Konoha's Blazing Eyes
by MyNameIsGuzse
Summary: A boulder that fell half a meter off. That's all it took for the shinobi world to take a whole new path. Now, Obito must carry out his duties as a Konoha ninja and protect his comrades as he and his comrades need to pass on the will of fire to the next generation! Not team Minato-centric, will contain present team seven later on. sloppy first chapter, gets better after that.
1. Chapter 1: The deciding moment

**Hello everybody! MyNameIsGuzse, and this is my first fanfiction in a very long time. I don't have a lot of experience with writing, but thank you anyways for giving it a chance! I have 2 months off, so I need something to spend my time on :P  
Anyway's, let's move on.**

**THIS DISCLAIMER IS ACTIVE ON THIS ENTIRE SERIES: I do not own naruto, or naruto shippuden. All rights belong to kishimoto. I only own my Original Character's (OC), if there are any.**

Fate was a twisted thing. You may or may not believe in it, and you can decide your own fate, but there are still things you can't change. You do not decide when a giant boulder falls down. But this time, fate decided to be a little bit nicer to team 7.

The damned cave just had to start collapsing. Rin and Obito ran up front, and Kakashi right behind them. They were tired, wounded and just wanted to go home. But there they were, running for their lives, trying not to get smashed by the falling boulders. After what felt like an eternity, they saw a faint shimmer of light growing bigger and bigger. "There is the exit!" Rin screamed. We ran outside, Obito tried to catch his breath, but saw a giant boulder was about to smash Kakashi. He ran, not even thinking. He just ran to him, trying to get him out of there.

Crash!

They lied there, dumbfounded. Obito managed to pull Kakashi out of the way right in time. His ears were buzzing from the shock of the builder falling. Kakashi could taste the dust in his mouth.

"OBITO!" I heard Rin scream. I wondered why. Wasn't everything alright? He then looked at Kakashi. His face was lightly shocked. I wonder what got him so scared. I just saved his life, didn't I?

Obito looked at the right. "Oh, so that's why you're so shocked, my arm is crushed by a boulder. Wait… MY ARM IS CRUSHED BY A BOULDER?!"

Kakashi regained his calm. "Calm down Obito, it's just you're arm. It could have been way worse. Look, we first need to get that boulder away."

Rin and Kakashi managed to roll the boulder away. Finally, Obito started to feel the pain in his arm. Rin ran at him, and immediately checked his arm. "You're very lucky, Obito. It's merely broken. It could have been way worse, although you will not be able to use that arm for the next few months, but knowing you, that won't stop you from trying. I'll try to heal as much as I can."

After Rin healed Obito's arm, and applied some bandages, they heard the enemy approaching.  
"Damnit!" Obito said. He felt so completely useless right now. He finally got his sharingan, and now he couldn't even try it out in battle.

"Don't worry Obito, you just stay put. We'll fight them off." Kakashi said. _But easier said then done. _He thought. "_We are just chunin and genin, these guys are jonin"_He thought. This was such a pain in the ass. Kakashi took out the White Light, and Rin got in a taijutsu stance. This was going to be a long fight.

Kakashi leapt at Mahiru, the white light ready to attack. Mahiru managed to block the attack with his kunai, but didn't expect the kick that hit him right in the stomach. Kakkõ appeared behind Kakashi, but got pushed out of the way by Rin, but she got kicked away. Kakko and Mahiru tried to regroup, but failed when a lightning hound ran in between them, nearly hitting them. It then proceeded to crash into a tree.

"Raiton: Raiju Hashubri no Jutsu!" Kakashi stood there, his hands in a sign. Kakko and Mahiru flinched, and Rin then stabbed Kakko in the back. The wound wasn't deep enough to kill him, but it should slow his movements. But her hopes were crushed when Kakko melted down. "It was just a mud clone, watch out!" But Kakko had already appeared behind Kakashi. "Doton: ishidukhurino arashi no jutsu!" Stones sharp as kunai appeared out of the ground, slashing Kakashi, wounding him. Kakashi winced, but proceeded to kick Kakko in the air. "Raiton: Raiju Hashubri no Jutsu!" A lightning hound shot out of Kakashi's hand, and shocked Kakko, falling unconscious on the ground.

Kakashi then looked at Mahiru, who was currently in a taijutsu battle with Rin. He then jumped back, and crossed his fingers, shouting: "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" About 20 shadow clones appeared behind him, 10 charging at Rin, and 10 preparing to face Kakashi. Kakashi decided to counter with 10 of his own shadow clones, but could only produce 5. "Damnit, I'm running out of chakra!" He said. He was worried about Rin, but couldn't help her now.

It took about 5 minutes before Kakashi defeated his small army of shadow clone opponents. He then looked at Rin, who was pinned down against a tree, with a kunai held at her neck. Mahiru laughed: "Not a step closer, or her little head is gonna roll over the ground!" Kakashi stood there, frozen. He didn't know what to do. He thought about giving up, but then looked at Rin. Her hand barely managed to touch Mahiru, but she managed to send a wave off chakra in his stomach, pushing him a few inches away from here, giving her an opening to escape. But she was careless, and fell out of the tree, hitting the ground, falling unconscious. Mahiru landed on the other side of the tree, running at Rin, kunai ready in his hand: "IM GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THAT, GIRL!"

Kakashi saw no other way. He knew sensei had forbidden that technique, but it was the only thing fast enough to save Rin. It just had to work, it had to. He made the signs, and held out his hand. A blue light started to grow in his hand, shining brighter and brighter. A chirping noise came from the light, and electric spark's started to fly around his hand. A fraction of a second later, Kakashi leapt at Mahiru. His eyes never leaving his opponent. His mind only thinking of one thing: _save her, save her, save her, save her! _Mahiru looked at Kakashi, his eyes wide with fear. Chakra was supposed to be invisible to the naked eye. Only certain dojutsu were supposed to be able to see chakra. Then how was it possible he could see this? He had not time to think about it, as blood gushed out of his stomach, and a burning feeling started to rage trough his body. He could only hear one thing before everything went black.

"CHIDORI!"

Mahiru dropped on the ground. Kakashi's hand was covered in blood. His eyes sleepy. That chidori had taken the last of his chakra. He could hear someone standing up behind him, but he couldn't turn. He couldn't fight back anymore. It was over.

Kakko stood right behind him, a kunai ready to stab his neck. But he let go of the kunai as his whole body suddenly caught on fire. A giant fireball had hit him, flying right beside Kakashi. Kakashi could feel the heat of the attack. He looked to the right, and saw Obito standing there, smoke coming from his mouth, his hands forming the sign of the tiger. His right arm was twisted in a way an arm wasn't supposed to twist. Obito grinned, Kakashi grinned back. His vision then became black, and all he saw a yellow flash of light before he lost consciousness.

**And that's it! Chapter one of my "What if Obito was alive" fic! Just to let you know, this isn't going to be a "Team minato–centered" fanfic. We will get to the current team 7. I hope you all enjoyed it! I will try to upload as much as I can, but can't tell you when. I am also trying a thing on youtube, and im currently playing a minecraft modpack. If you want to, check me out. My channel name is MyNameIsGuzse (Hah, shameless self-advertising :D) Anyways, thanks for reading, I hope to see you all in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2: Rin dies

**I'm terribly sorry. Last chapter was one big mess. I updated the last chapter, so it wouldn't be as messed up. Anyways, I want to get to the part where naruto's genin days start as fast as possible. I got a little twist in mind that you guy's will like :)**

It was a normal day in Konoha. Ninja ran in and out of the hokage building, and Sarutobi was barely visible behind his stacks of paperwork. He needed to find a successor one of these day's, or he might just go senile! To his delight, team Minato just walked in.

"Eh? Where is the old man?" Obito asked.

Minato noticed the smoke coming from Sarutobi's pipe rising up behind a pile of unsigned documents.

"Lord hokage, team Minato is here to request a mission" Minato said.

Sarutobi smiled, and stood up. He walked in front of his desk. Obite let a small sigh of relief.

"I almost thought you were gone, old man!" He smirked. The third couldn't help but smile back. He liked ninja like Obito. Sure, they may not be the best ninja (at least, not yet!), but they sure did brighten up his day's.

"What kind of mission do you recommend, Minato?" The third asked.

"I think just a C-rank will be enough to occupy them for today" he said, his sunny smile never leaving his face. _"He is a good role model for young ninja, maybe I should consider him"_ the third thought as he took a paper from the many piles in his office.

"I think this is a good one! The task is simple, you are just supposed to find a guy named Shinjo. He is an veteran and the last member of an old clan, who specialized in fire style ninjutsu. As he is the last member of his clan, and he has no children to pass on his legacy, he wants to entrust Konoha with his family's ninjutsu scrolls so his clan won't be forgotten. The man lives in the land of Sun, near the land of water."

**At the village gates**

Rin, Kakashi and Minato were waiting for Obito. Not that that was exceptional, he was always late. But that didn't take away that Kakashi thought it was super annoying.

"Can't that idiot be on time for once?" Kakashi said with a voice so cold it almost froze the sun.

"Now now, I'm sure Obito has a good reason for being late" Minato said, with an unsure smile across his face.

Rin in the meantime had a happy smile on her face. "This is the first mission Obito is allowed to go on since his arm was injured, so he will show up any second now. I know he will be happy to go on a mission again after such a long time!" Rin said happily. She was happy that everything finally had calmed down. The third great ninja war ended a month ago, about the time Obito could move his arm again. He went on for weeks how he wished he could have fought with his friends. And although the damage was still visible, little by little the world seemed to build itself up. Rin was all to happy that her team managed to survive.

Kakashi sighed, and sat down against the gate of Konoha. He decided that arguing would only be a waste of energy.

Obito, in the meantime, was running as fast as he could towards the gate. His cousin Shisui decided that Obito had to play with him, and stole his trademark goggles. And damn, for an academy student, his cousin was fast. Not faster than Obito, of course, but the little brat was sneaky enough to stay out of touch for a good 20 minutes. And leaving without his goggles was out of the question. Of course, this all meant that he would have to deal with an annoyed Kakashi for the rest of the day.

As Obito arrived, his teammates, under the lead of Kakashi, all said: "YOUR LATE!"

"Sorry, a thief stole something important from me, and I had to chase him to get it back!" that that thief was an academy student, nobody needed to know.

"Well, now that we are all here, let's leave for the land of Sun!" Minato said cheerfully. He and Rin smiled, as they walked behind their two arguing teammates.

After a good 7 hours, they reached a small little village near the border with the land of Water where their client lived. Minato lead the way, and his team followed. He knocked on the man's door. Little did they know, that they were being shadowed by a man in a black cloak with red clouds.

The mission had gone smoothly. The old man gave them the scroll, and was kind enough to let them rest for a little bit before taking off to Konoha again. But after another 3 hours of running, the sun was going down, and they decided to set up camp for the night. They started a small fire, and put their sleeping bags in a circle around it. After a few hours of talking, laughing and arguing, they decided to get some sleep. Obito and Kakashi prepared to go to bed, and Minato was about to do the same when he saw Rin walking away.

"Rin? Where are you going?" He asked

"I'm going to get some water to put out the fire!" she shouted. Minato was somewhat worried that a girl like her would just run into the forest at night, but she was a ninja and could protect herself.

Rin managed to find a river, and took the bottle she took with her, and filled it up with water. She put the bottle in her backpack and was about to return to the camp, when suddenly, she noticed a sound coming from a bush, as she turned around, 5 enemy ninja appeared behind her. One put a kunai to her throat, another took a rope and tied her hands together, and another one put a piece of cloth in her mouth. In the faint moonlight, she could barely make out the headband of the ninja that attacked her: Kirigakure. She was terrified, but tried to think as fast as she could.

"Is anybody still around?" one of the men asked.

"I double checked the area, her teammates aren't around" a female voice said.

Rin panicked. What if the others didn't find out about her? What would happen then? She had no time to think about it, as the enemy cast a genjutsu on her, and she fell unconscious.

It took about 5 minutes for Minato to wonder what kept Rin. It took about another 5 to get him worried. Another 5 minutes later he woke up Obito and Kakashi.

"What is it sensei?" Obito said with a annoyed face. The boy certainly didn't like to be woke up.

"Rin has still not come back. I'm getting worried, so let's go look for her." Minato said.

As the 3 ninja dashed trough the trees, Minato's suspicions grew with each step. They jumped down near the river, and Obito was the first one to react.

"Rin? Riiin? RIIIIN? Where are you? RIN?" he shouted. Minato and Kakashi were looking around.

"Sensei, these are Rin's footprints, but they are surrounded by other footprints. I think about 5 different ones!" Kakashi said, his face changing into serious-mode.

Minato ran over. He took a look at the footprints.

"There are 3 guys and 2 girls. One of the girls is a genjutsu user, the other is a medic. Out of the 3 guys, 2 are water-style users, and one is a wind-style user". Minato said with a voice most people didn't even know he had. His face was stern, is muscles tensed, and his eyes were just screaming that he would kill whoever did this to his pupil. It made Kakashi tremble a bit. When it came down to it, his sensei was a totally different person.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Kakashi shouted, as pakkun appeared beside him. Pakkun's face was the same as always: bored and irritated.

"Yo Kakashi, what do ya need me for?" Pakkun said nonchalantly, creeping Obito out a bit. No matter how many times Kakashi summoned Pakkun, he would never get used to a talking dog.

"Rin has been captured by enemy ninja. Use this weapon pouch she gave me as a "congrats on making jounin" present to track her" Kakashi said.

"Got it" said Pakkun as he dashed of, the three male ninja right behind him.

**With Rin**

As Rin regained consciousness, she noticed she was chained to a stone table in some sort of cave. The cave was lit up by torches that hung against the wall, and four pillars with skull candles that stood around the stone table. In front of her, she could see a boy, who was chained to a stone cross. The boy was young, maybe only 10, and was wearing a Kirigakure headband. His eyes were wide open, his pupil's were lifeless. Rin wondered if the boy was still alive. Next to the boy, Rin saw the enemy ninja that attacked her earlier. They all lied there on the ground, their eyes wide open. Black markings were spread across their face

"I see that you are awake, Rin Nohara."

A tall man with a deep voice walked out of the shadows. At first Rin mistook his eyes for a sharingan, but there were no tomoe in his eyes. The man was wearing a black cloak with red clouds on, and had black hair. All of this was hard to see, as the man's face was covered in shadows, and only one single strand of hair fell over his face, backed up by his two glowing red eyes.

He walked over to the ninja that attacked her, and put his hand on their heads. The black markings started to move, and ran over his arms into his sleeve. One by one, the markings on the ninja disappeared.

"Seals are a better way of controlling someone's mind then genjutsu. They can't be released by a simple release technique" the man spoke.

The man walked over to her, and pulled her shirt up so her stomach was revealed. He then walked over to the boy, to whom he did the same thing.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this to me? What are you planning?" Rin panicked. She didn't know what was going on anymore. The man stayed silent, his back towards her, and slowly turned around. She could see his face more clearly, and noticed a little black star on his forehead.

"I am a person who wants peace. My whole life I have seen suffering, and my plan is to bring peace to this world. Yet my name is something that I had to discard. Nobody would believe me if I told them my name" the man said slowly. Rin noticed that his eyes were lifeless, almost sad. Yet his red, glowing eyes still gave her the chills.

The man faced the boy again, waved trough some handseals, and then put his hand on the boy's stomach.

"Fuuinjutsu: eito hime fuuin isou!"

The man's hand began glowing green, and a black seal appeared on the boy's stomach. As the man seemingly pushed his hand into the boy's stomach, het grabbed something, and then pulled out something that Rin only could think of as a giant spirit of a turtle. The turtle was fighting back, but the man managed to pull him further and further out towards rin. He then put his other hand on Rin's stomach.

"Eito hime kansei!" He shouted, as he let his hands go, and the turtle transformed into what seemed as a red liquid, which was now flowing from the boy into Rin. Rin suddenly felt a pain as if someone was pushing a dull blade into her stomach, and then forced something inside the hole that was way too big. The pain was terrible, but somehow Rin couldn't utter a single scream. Instead, small chuckles came from her throat, as she bend her back away from the stone table.

Suddenly, a white streak of light flashed before Rin's eyes, and she saw that the red liquid that connected her with the boy was broken. She looked to her left. Kakashi stood there, with his White Light Chakra Sabre in his hand.

"You do not know who your'e messing with, BOY!" the cloaked man shouted, a furious look in his eyes. He held a black iron stick out, ready to stab Kakashi, but suddenly felt someone grab his arm. Minato had tagged Kakashi, and used Hiraishin to teleport to him, and grabbed the man's arm. Minato held his free hand stretched behind him, and a blue ball formed in it.

"Rasengan!"

The cloaked man flew trough the cave, crashing into a wall. He stood up, clearly shocked from the experience.

By the time the man had made contact with the wall, Obito had already ran at Rin, and freed her from her chains. He then helped her up, by letting her lean on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Obito…" she said weak. Obit had a worried expression on his face. He looked at the cloaked man. He was obviously mad, but not as mad as Obito. Obito felt like running at him and tear him in a thousand pieces.

Minato formed a rasengan, tagged kunai ready in his other hand. Kakashi formed a chidori and Obito Activated his sharingan. The cloaked man just watched them.

"Well, this is not how I planned everything out. The sealing is incomplete and I didn't manage to put the puppet-master jutsu on the girl. But even though I am strong, I am no match for the yellow flash and his entire team. You win this round Rin, that is, if you survive…"

The cloaked man then sunk into the ground. Minato threw his kunai at him, but the kunai suddenly hit an invisible wall. By the time he managed to run over there, the man was already gone. Minato cursed himself for not being fast enough. This meant months of training to become even faster then he was now.

All these thoughts, however, were wiped out of his mind as suddenly Obito screamed his lungs out.

"RIN!"

Rin was in bad shape. She started coughing up blood, and her eyes were weak.

"O-bi-…" she said as she was cut off by a black void claiming her vision. She started to slip away as the last of her chakra ran out…

Something inside Obito snapped. His sharingan just saw the last of her chakra disappear. He wasn't stupid, he knew what that meant. When someone completely ran out of chakra, that means that person is dead. Tears started to roll from his face, as his mind progressed what just happened.  
His face turned upward. He screamed out her name one more time, as his sharingan started to twist and turn, and the Mangekyou Sharingan nested itself into his eyes.

Rin was slowly floating into a black void. She couldn't feel her body anymore. Everything was so peacefull. She just wanted to go to sleep, an never wake up.

"RIIIIIIIIIIN!" she heard someone yell. Who was it? Couldn't they just leave her alone? She was trying to sleep. Suddenly, a nice heat started to wash over her opened her eyes as the red liquid that was pouring in her a minute ago grabbed her body, and lifted it up. As she floated higher and higher, she could see a faint light. As she floated closer and closer, she could see people in the light. Minato was crying, Kakashi had the saddest expression on his face Rin had ever seen, and Obito's eyes were full of anger, hatred, and shock. Suddenly, she gasped for air.

"She's alive!" Minato shouted. Obito and Kakashi turned around, as their faces lit up, and they ran over to check on Rin. Rin, in the meantime, didn't know what was going on. She thought she was dead. No, she really was dead for a moment. But something pulled her back into the world of the living. She only smiled as everything went black again, this time only losing consciousness.

**And that's it! If you haven't figured out what happened yet, I would advise you to watch the Kakashi Chronicles arc of the anime. I think that's where we learn what really happened to Rin. Now, I wasn't planning on making her a jinchuuriki, but then I remembered that that's the sole reason Rin wanted Kakashi to kill her. The next part will be more peacefull, as Rin has to adapt to her new lifestyle. I guess about 2-3 more chapters before we finally get to Naruto. Anyways, thank you for reading this story. I hope to have chapter 3 up in a couple of day's. See ya!**

** .i.2000: Thanks for the review! I realize I screwed up last chapter, but this time I made sure to stay with on pov! It was all because there were nearly no stories like this, that I wanted to write a "Obito-alive" fic. Anyways, thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3: Facing reality

**Hey guys! MyNameIsGuzse, and here I am with chapter 3! I just rewrote chapter 1 a bit, as requested. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the next chapter! Thanks for reading!**

Rin woke up in a hospital bed in Konoha. Well, as awake you can be when you just regained consciousness but are still unable to move your body that is. As her senses all came back, she heard 2 people talk. One of them seemed to be the doctor.

"We ran several tests, and all of them had the same result: she has the sanbi (AN: sanbi= 3 tails) sealed inside of her. As of now, we cannot say how strong the seal is, or if it was meant to be able to hold the beast for long at all. However, we can say that the seal was never completed. With things as they are now, there is no way the seal will be able to hold so much chakra suppressed" she heard the doctor say. Rin didn't get it. What on earth was a sanbi? And why did they seal it inside of her? Rin started to panic, but then the second voice spoke up.

"Jiraiya just happens to be in the village. I will ask him to take a look at her seal. I'm sure he's the best man for the job. He may not be the most serious ninja, but with things as they are now, I'm sure he will understand" the elderly voice said. Wait, that voice sounded a lot like… Lord hokage! Rin relaxed a bit. As she did, she found out she could somewhat move her body again.

"Ah, it looks like the child is waking up. Shouldn't you check on her?" The hokage said.

The doctor tensed, and Rin saw a strong emotion in his eyes. It was… Fear? Rin was confused. She wanted to know what was going on already! She tried to sit straight, but the doctor stopped her.

"Y-you probably shouldn't t-try to sit up yet!" he said stuttering. Then the hokage stepped in the room, and sat down. His smile soothed the doctor and Rin. The doctor Ran around the room, checked all of the monitors, took her pulse and breathing patterns, and checked her by ticking her knee with a hammer, while Rin responded by kicking him in the stomach (by accident, off course). The doctor muttered something about "damned ninja reflexes, every time…" as he regained his posture and stood up straight.

"It seems like you are almost ready to be checked out. I will bring in the test results, and then you are good to go".

The hokage stood up, his face getting a bit more serious. "Doctor, would you be so kind to leave me and the girl alone for a while? There are some things we have to discuss." Sarutobi asked.

The doctor, who was all to leave the room he shared with a jinjuuriki, turned around and was about to leave as Sarutobi said "And doctor, not a word. To anybody, understood?"

The doctor gulped, and quickly left the room. "_Could this day get any worse?" _He thought as he tripped over a thin thread hung between 2 walls, and two kids of about 5 years old who were playing ninja jumped out and started to beat him up with foam kunai. He then broke out into tears, his stress finally getting the better of him.

The hokage sat beside Rin. He then stared at her for a few seconds, and then asked "Rin, do you remember what happened to you?"

Rin thought. Flashes of a dark cave, a turtle, a cloaked man and glowing red eyes appeared in her mind. She then remembered a white streak, and floating in a black void. Lastly she remembered a red liquid engulfing her body, and pulling her towards a bright light.

"I remember small pieces, but I have no idea what actually happened. It's all still a daze for me" she said as a sad expression appeared on her face.

The third then spoke up "You went through a lot, and you ended up being marked by something that is above us all, even me" the third said regretfully. His face wasn't his usual kind old man-smile, but was visibly tensed. He then asked "but before I tell you what happened, I need to ask something. Do you know about the tailed beasts?"

Rin thought, then shook her head. She had never learned about those in the academy, that's for sure. She had heard rumors here and there, but never heard the real story.

So the third started to explain. About the how the sage of six paths created them, how they are giant manifestations of chakra, how they were used by villages in wars, and then split amongst the villages by the 1st hokage, Hashirama Senju. Rin listened quietly, soaking up the information like a sponge. She now understood, but she had no idea what this all had to do with her.

The third noticed "by now, you must be wondering why I tell you all of this. You see, the tailed beasts detest humans because they abused them, and are hard to control. To do so, you need to seal the tailed beasts inside a person, who will then become his jinchuuriki. This person will then have access to the chakra of the tailed beast. But it comes with a price. The beast will try to break free from the seal and leave his host, so the host must do anything it can to suppress it" he said.

Rin's eyes opened wide in shock. Everything made sense now: the conversation between the doctor and the hokage, the fear in the man's eyes, the story of the tailed beasts. Memory's came flooding back in as she remembered the man that put the seals on her, the red liquid that transferred in her body, the red chakra that pulled her out of the black void. Tears started to swell up in her eyes, as she looked at the hokage for confirmation. Maybe this was all just a dream. A very, very bad dream. But as she looked into the third's eyes, she realized that this was all reality.

"You are the sanbi's new jinchuuriki, Rin" the hokage said with a sad expression on his face.

Obito was walking through the village. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, so the streets were already packed with people. Parent's dragging their kids to the park, people going to the store to get dinner,  
ninja going to get some supplies from the weapon store,… All in all, a normal Sunday morning. But not for Obito, as our raven haired Uchiha was lost in his thoughts. He couldn't get their last mission out of his head. He had felt so useless! He had done nothing to protect Rin. He wasn't there when they took her, and did nothing but unchain her. Kakashi stopped whatever the cloaked man was doing to Rin, and Minato sensei stopped whatever the cloaked man would have done to Kakashi. Obito just stood there, practically doing nothing besides flashing his sharingan and holding a unconscious girl. _"Well, at least that was fun!"_ he thought as his face turned a bit red.

He just had no ways of actually protecting himself or his teammates. Sure, he had the sharingan, but he had yet to work out how the damned thing actually worked, and perfecting it could take years! And to be honest, now that that weird thing happened to his sharingan, he was reluctant to use it. He caught on stories from clan members, and from what he gathered he awoke the mangekyou sharingan. And if that was true, it meant that he could go blind. And then he would be even more useless! No, Obito had to find another way to get stronger. A lot of ninja managed to grow strong without a kekkei genkai. Just look at his sensei, Kakashi and even the hokage! And then there were the 3 sannin. Obito then thought about what he already could: he could use the 3 academy jutsu, as well as the katon: gokakyu no jutsu (= fireball jutsu). So, he knew he could duplicate himself, disguise himself, switch his body with a log (where they keep getting those logs was beyond him), and he had a fire affinity. Now in that last one he was interested. Obito managed to learn the fireball technique pretty quickly, and really liked using the fire style. He grinned as he dashed off to the library to do what he hadn't done since he left the academy: study!

Kakashi sat at home, doing nothing. It wasn't like him. He was Kakashi Hatake, son of the white fang, and the youngest kid to ever graduate from the academy! And what was he doing? Sitting at home, in his couch, staring at his white blade as the time flew by.

But in his mind, Kakashi was also lost in thoughts. After the attack on Rin, the white light chakra sabre had suffered major damage. Whatever that stuff was Kakashi slashed trough wasn't just a liquid. It felt as if Kakashi cut trough a stream of molten steel! And his father's signature blade had to pay for it.

His father… He was the one who was on Kakashi's mind right now. After his father committed suicide, Kakashi had lived according to the ninja code. Finishing the mission goes before all else, bonds will only keep you down, a ninja must show no emotion,… But all of these rules were forgotten as soon as he knew Rin was in danger. Ever since the battle of Kanabi bridge, Kakashi knew he had changed. He started to open up more around his team, and he even dared to admit that they were his friends. And even though his whole life he had swore that he would never act like his father did, he just realized that he did so without even thinking. And that's when he realized that while he thought he was running away from his father's legend, he was actually chasing it.

Kakashi stood up, and walked to the chimney that stood right in front of the couch. Kakashi noted that ever since his father died, he almost never sat in his living room anymore. There, on the chimney, a wooden weapon stand stood in place. It stood there for almost 10 years now, and now the old thing would finally be reunited with the weapon that it once held. Kakashi stored away the white light chakra sabre. He then mentally promised he would stop chasing his father's legend, and become his own idea of the ideal ninja his father would be proud off. Instead of neglecting his father's lessons, he would embrace them, but from now on he would try to form his own opinions without his father or his stupid ninja code's influence. He, Kakashi Hatake, would stop chasing a legend, and become one himself. With his new goal in mind, Kakashi took off to training ground nine, where he would find a young Uchiha practicing a few new jutsu he picked up in the library…

Minato sat atop the third's head (wouldn't that be funny as hell XD I mean the mountain version, of course!). He watched over Konoha as he thought about what the third hokage said to him. Basically, he was uneasy about Rin's condition, and the third just confirmed his worst fears.

"She is the jinchuuriki of the sanbi, Minato"

The words rampaged through his mind. He couldn't understand why someone would force a human being to bear a curse like that. A tear rolled down his cheek as he blamed himself for what happened to Rin. He was Konoha's yellow flash, but couldn't even get to his own subordinate fast enough to save her! What good as a ninja was he anyways?

He continued to watch over Konoha, as if it could get attacked any second, until someone came up and sit down next to him. He watched as her red hair gently waved in the wind. He was happy she was here. Although Minato was a kind man and many people respected him, he didn't have many close friends. But his closest friend, without a doubt, was this woman.

Kushina Uzumaki. Ever since he met her, he knew she was special. Something about her just made his heart beat twice as fast, and it wasn't only her beautiful hair. Her cheerful personality, her girly chuckles, the way she seemed to be able to solve all of his problems…

…by punching him in the face, that is.

Minato tried to hide his now red cheek as he rubbed it.

"What was that good for?" he asked comically.

"Whatever your problem is, you really need to stop acting like a crybaby. You are one of our most elite jonin for Gods sake!

Minato's face sunk back into its sad expression, and Kushina started to worry (although she would never admit it).

"Alright, what happened to make you so depressed?" She asked, a bit more serious now.

So Minato told her everything that happened. About the mission, the sanbi, Rin, everything. Kushina sat there and listened, not speaking a word. She knew how the girl must feel. After all, Kushina went through the same experience when she was about her age.

"I just don't understand why someone would seal something like that inside a human. It's a violation of human rights! You can't brand someone like that!" Minato said angrily. Kushina replied rather calm.

"Sometimes, becoming a jinchuuriki is a good thing. Jinchuuriki protect us from the beasts they contain. I think that being a jinchuuriki is a noble cause. But, to seal a demon inside someone so you can turn the person into a weapon… It's just wrong in so many ways!" Kushina replied. Now it was her turn to cry. But she cried angrily. Angrily at the world to betray a young girl like that. Angry at the men that would just waste someone's life for their own benefit. Becoming a jinchuuriki is one thing, but being forced to become one to merely become a weapon is inhuman.

The sun was setting. Minato looked at Kushina as the sky turned the same colors as their hair. They looked at one another, exchanging more feelings then they could ever tell each other with words. The sun slowly sunk behind them as their heads moved closer together, their lips met, and feelings that had been bottled up for years had finally been exchanged.

**And that's it! Chapter 3 of my story! I know this one was a bit cheesy, but I needed to show that the events of the previous chapter actually did have an impact on the story outside of Rin becoming a jinchuuriki. Now, I need you guy's opinion on this one: should I make another chapter, where I show the training team Minato put's themselves trough, or should I just get on to the kyuubi attack? This would draw the story to it's conclusion faster, but on the other side it may leave things a bit unexplained. If you find the time, please tell me in a review or a personal message. Anyway's, I thank you all for reading and I will see you all next chapter!**

**Don't forget to check out my youtube channel if you find the time: /MyNameIsGuzse  
(Hehe: shameless self-advertising :D)**


	4. Chapter 4: Accepting reality

**Hello guys! Chapter 4 is ready to go! It's been a while, but I am currently playing a minecraft modpack and I am really enjoying it. I usually write in the morning, when our private server isn't on, but I have been sleeping a lot longer the past few days :)**

**Anyways, you are not here to hear me ramble on about my personal life, you are here for the next chapter. So let's get it on!**

These last 2 weeks were a living hell. Rin was pushed through several tests to see if the seal of sanbi would hold. These "tests" was just the interrogation team testing out different torturing techniques on her, to test her mental stability. After 1 week, Rin's seal started to grow weaker, so the Hokage asked Jiraiya to take a look at it. Jiraiya then said that the seal was never finished, and was slowly disappearing. He then said he could finish the seal himself, but that she would experience a pain stronger than anything she ever felt, and he wasn't kidding. These 15 minutes of sealing made the past week look like nothing. It was like the previous time, but this time 10 times more painful! After the seal was finished, Rin lost consciousness, and only regained it a few days later. Today was the first day she was able to go outside.

Now it's been 2 weeks since the kidnapping incident. Rin was walking through the streets of Konoha. Wherever she looked, parents would pull away their children, people would look at her with glaring eyes and playing kids would keep a good 5 meters away from her, as their parents most likely told them. It was weird. Wherever Rin went, people would look at her in fear. As if they thought she was a bomb that could explode any second.

And so did Rin.

She was afraid that one day she will lose control and go on a rampage. She was afraid that she and the beast had become one. She was afraid that maybe, she was the sanbi itself. Thoughts about her killing her friends haunted her mind.

Rin arrived at training ground nine. The place where she first met team Minato. The place where her ninja career started. Whenever she felt sad, Rin would visit here to clear her mind.

Only this time, it wasn't the quit training ground Rin wanted it to be. Sounds of people fighting, kunai hitting each other midair and people using ninjutsu filled the air. As Rin took a closer look, she saw that the people fighting were Kakashi and Obito, while being watched over by Minato. Rin looked as they both dashed around the field, launching jutsu after jutsu. Rin wanted to run over there, but then stopped in her tracks. What if they didn't want her as their teammate? What if they were afraid of the monster inside her? Would they ever accept her again? Tears came flooding from her eyes as she turned around, and walked away from her team, her comrades, her _friends._

Obito glanced at the forest. He could have sworn he saw Rin there for a second. But he had no time to think about it as a kick landed on his stomach. Obito was send crashing into the ground and cringed as he stood up.

"First you refuse to use your sharingan, and then you don't even pay attention in the fight? What the hell happened to you, Obito?" Kakashi asked, frowning at Obito.

"I don't need the sharingan to beat you, Kakashi!" Obito said.

"Last month you were flashing your sharingan whenever you could, and now you refuse to use it even in battle? This isn't like you." He answered. "Does it have something to do with what happened two weeks ago?"

Obito's face became a little worried, which was the only answer Kakashi needed. If Obito became worried about something, it must really be important.

"Yeah, ever since my sharingan changed, I have been reluctant to use it. From what I picked up in the clan, it's called the mangekyou sharingan, and if you use it to much, you go blind. That's the reason I'm afraid to use it".

Minato decided to walk over to them. "You know, if it bothers you, you could always go to a clan member and ask them about it. Shouldn't your uncle Fugaku know something about it?

Obito thought about asking his uncle, but he cringed on the thought. His uncle wasn't the nicest person. "I'll think about it" Obito said as he walked off to the Uchiha district.

Kakashi turned to Minato. "Minato sensei, would you mind helping me out with a technique?" he asked. Minato thought about it, then shook his head. "I can't Kakashi, If I'm late at Ichiraku's, my girlfriend is going to kill me" he said with a goofy smile. Kakashi chuckled at that statement. He had known Kushina for a long time, as she was a pretty close friend of her father and occasionally came to check up on him after his death, and knew how hot-tempered she was.

"Okay then sensei, I'll practice on my own then. We don't want you dead now, do we?" Kakashi said smirking as he made a chidori and started to run at the training dummies.

Minato wanted to leave, but turned around and looked at Kakashi. "Kakashi, don't forget you can't talk to anybody about Rin's condition, alright?" "Don't worry sensei, I know!" He said as he formed another chidori and ran off again.

Obito arrived at the Uchiha compound. As he walked through the streets, he could literally feel the glares of the other Uchiha clan members. Obito was always the odd one out. He wasn't a cool, compose, clan-based member of the clan, and for the longest time it looked like he would never awaken the sharingan. He was always the disgrace of the Uchiha's.

Suddenly, a small shadow jumped behind Obito; Obito then heard it shout "OBITO-NIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

Obito stepped sideways, and Shisui crashed into the ground. Shisui winced and stood up, Obito laughing at the young prodigy. "Shisui, do not scream when you jump an opponent, you are meant to be unseen!" he said as he helped the young Uchiha up. "Obito-nii, do you wanna help me train my shuriken jutsu?" the boy said with pleading eyes. Obito shook his head "I have to do something important Shisui, But I could help you out later if you want to. Come look for me in about an hour or so, okay?" Obito said as Shisui nodded. The kid knew that Obito had a lot of important things to do now that he was a ninja, so he decided not to complain about it. At least he had time later.

"Okay then. Bye Obito-nii!" he said as he dashed off with a speed so fast an academy student would barely see it. "_One day, Shisui, you'll be an even better ninja then I am, I'm sure of it!_" He said as he watched his cousin dash off. Obito liked Shisui a lot. Except for Itachi, he was the only Uchiha that actually accepted him. Obito turned around, and ran towards the house of Fugaku. "_Let's get this over with_" he thought.

Fugaku Uchiha was a busy man, and couldn't find the right balance between taking care of his family and taking care of the clan. He didn't show it, but the man was always stressed out. That's why he was happy when someone knocked on the door, which gave him a reason to leave his paperwork for a while.

Fugaku opened the door, and saw a nervous Obito standing there.

"Hello, uncle" Obito said while avoiding eye contact.

"What is it, Obito?" he asked in his "neutral" voice; it wasn't that neutral tough, it sounded pretty bored according to Obito.  
"Uncle, I have a problem and I thought you might be able to help me" he asked.

Fugaku wondered what it was that got Obito to ask for his help. "If you broke someone's belongings again, I am not going to pay for the damage this time, Obito" he said warningly, and the only answer he got was Obito finally making eye contact, as his eyes began to twist into the mangekyou sharingan. Fugaku was surprised and shocked; who did the boy see dying at his age? Fugaku led him inside. There was a lot that needed to be explained, both to Obito as to Fugaku.

Obito was relieved. He was currently on his way to the ramen shop, where he would meet up with Shisui, as promised. His uncle had explained that using the normal sharingan wouldn't make him go blind, and that his new eye's came with a jutsu that was at least A-ranked; Obito had never felt so happy. If it really came down to it, he would use this new jutsu. His uncle also told him that you indeed go blind by overusing the mangekyou, but that it takes a long time before you would notice any difference. But it all came down to the jutsu. Certain mangekyou jutsu are more chakra-heavy then others, and the more chakra it takes, the faster you go blind.

He then was told the story about Madara Uchiha, the first bearer of the mangekyou, who stole his brothers eyes to grasp a mangekyou that was so powerful that he never went blind again. Obito would never go as far as to steal another person's eyes just to become more powerful. It felt wrong on to many levels.

As he kept on walking, he was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts as someone gave him a small push on the shoulder. Obito turned his head and saw Kakashi walk beside him.

"Hey Obito, what are you doing in this part of Konoha?" he asked.

"I promised Shisui we would meet up at Ichiraku's, so I'm going there" he answered.

"But the ramen shop is the other way isn't it?" Kakashi noted.

Obito froze. "You turn left when you leave the Uchiha district, then second street right, and then first street right. You then walk through the park, and when you leave the park go right." He mentally slapped himself.

"DAMNIT, I WENT LEFT! BYE KAKASHI SEE YOU TOMORROW!" Obito shouted as he ran off in the opposite direction. Kakashi smiled as he watched his ever-late teammate dash away.

Shisui was eating a bowl of ramen as Itachi growled. "Are you sure he is coming, Shisui?" he asked.

"Yeah, don't worry! He's just late. In fact, he is always late!" he said smiling as he finished his ramen.

As on cue, Obito appeared besides them. "Your'e late!" the two kids said in unison, as if they had practiced it before. Obito winced. "Sorry, I got lost on the road of life" he answered.

"What, took a left turn?" Itachi joked. Obito sweatdropped. "Anyway's, I take it that Itachi is coming with us?" Shisui nodded. "Good, the more the merrier! Let's go guys!" Obito said as they dashed off to the training grounds. 

Rin sat on the pole that once Obito was tied to. She remembered their genin day's. She thought the world would never change, that things would go on like that forever. Now she had to live with a demon inside her. She sat there, but no tears came from her eyes. She had no left after today. She already sat there for hours on end. She just hoped that the pole would turn to life and teat her up.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard someone arrive on the training grounds. The sun would set in about an hour, so who would still come and train here?

Her question soon got answered as Obito jumped in front of her, followed by the two young Uchiha. Obito looked at her and a wide smile appeared on his face. "Rin! I haven't seen you since the mission! How are you? Are you okay?" he started to ask worriedly. Rin shook her head, putting up a façade as if nothing was wrong with her.

"Obito-nii! You said you would train us!" Shisui pouted. He already waited for Obito at the ramen shop, he didn't want to wait any longer. "Oh yeah, sorry guy's. Hey Rin, you wanna help me drill some jutsu in these two?" Obito asked, with a smile so genuine, so lively, so happy, and so perfect, that all of Rin's doubts were gone in an instant. Just seeing Obito smile like that at her made her realize that her teammates wouldn't lock her out because of what happened. A smile spread across her face as she jumped off the pole, and landed in front of Obito. "Sure, I'll help you! She said as they all started to smile. If anybody else would have seen them, it would have looked like four ninja raising their skills, but to them it was so much more. As their laughs echoed through the woods, the sun started to set, and a beautiful orange clad the sky.

Minato watched the beautiful sky together with Kushina. "Beautiful color, isn't it?" He asked. Kushina nodded. They wished they could stay like that forever, but someone had other plans, as the hokage's personal ANBU bodyguard appeared before them. "Minato Namikaze, the hokage has summoned you immediately to his office. He has something very urgent to tell you" the ANBU said, as he body flickered away. Minato sighed, and stood up. He didn't want to, but he had to leave already. "I swear that old man gives me more mission's than anybody else lately. I don't know why, but he has been doing nothing but giving me S-ranked missions all on my own. It's like he's testing me!" he said annoyed.

"Just go Minato, and don't worry about me. I'll go home and prepare dinner for us when you get home, okay?" she said as she stood up and smiled at him.

Minato smiled back, kissed her, and then dashed off to the hokage complex. As he arrived, he opened the door to the hokage's office, the ANBU not saying a word. They clearly expected him. Minato walked in to see Hiruzen, Danzo and the two village elder's next to them. Minato's suspicion's raised. Why were the village elders all gathered in the hokage's office?

Hiruzen sat down in his chair, and told Minato bowed before him.

Hiruzen started to talk "Minato, you are of our most capable ninja. I, on the other hand, am growing old, and I am losing my touch. I cannot continue my duties as the third hokage anymore, and I need a successor. I believe that you would be the perfect fourth hokage, minato. I believe that you will carry on the Will of Fire. So I want to entrust you with the future of the hidden leaf and the shinobi world. You will accept, won't you?

"Minato's eyes widened. Him, the fourth hokage? Weren't there better choices then him? Like jiraiya-sensei? But the third obviously trusted him. He would not let his trust go to waste!

"I shall do my best to deserve your trust, lord third" he answered.

Hiruzen smiled. "I wish I could have passed this on under better circumstances. The road ahead is not a peaceful one. There are still many scars left from the war, after all.

"I am prepared for it" Minato said.

"I know, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen you" the third replied.

**Chapter 4, DONE! This one took a while to write. I knew exactly what I wanted to write, I just didn't know how to write it. There still are some things I would have liked to do better, but I'm afraid to change things now that I finally finished the chapter in such a way that I am content. The last part where Minato was named hokage was taken out of the anime as cannon as I could (only the setting is different). Hope you guy's enjoyed it! Next up: Kyuubi attack on the village! The day that cost Konoha 3 000 lives!**


	5. Chapter 5: A hero was born

**We are growing, slowly but surely. To everybody who followed and favorited this chapter, thank you SO much! You guy's are awesome. I honestly can't thank you enough, but a chapter will have to do for now ;) I'm sorry that this chapter took so long, but it was hell to write, and it's almost double as long as my usual chapters, but I really didn't want to split it up in two. So here you go: 9 pages of non-stop storyline in Microsoft**** Word!**

As he stood in the aftermath of the battle, Obito finally understood why the Third didn't want them to join in the battle. He didn't want them experience the horror that occurred tonight…

Kushina was walking through the streets of Konoha, accompanied by Biwako Sarutobi, the third hokage's wife. She had never been so happy, nervous, scared and thrilled at the same time. Today would be the day that she would go into labour! Little Naruto had been kicking a lot lately, and today was the promised day. Kushina suddenly walked away from Biwako, annoying the retired kunoichi.

"Mikoto!" she shouted over to the late-mother. Mikoto turned around to see her best friend run over to her. Kushina! It's been a long time! How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good, ya know?" Kushina glanced down at the baby Mikoto was carrying. "Oh my! Was it a girl?" she asked.

"It's a boy" Mikoto proudly exclaimed. "So cute! What's your name?" Kushina asked.

"It's Sasuke".

"Oh, so he was named after the father of the Third Hokage!" Biwako proudly exclaimed.

"Yes, so that he will grow up to be a strong and fine shinobi" the mother proudly proclaimed.

"You will be giving birth soon too, Kushina? You should pick a name in advance" Mikoto said. Kushina smiled. "I already have. His name will be Naruto". Kushina gently put a hand on little Sasuke's head "You'll be classmates, Sasuke, so be friends, okay?" she asked the newborn Uchiha.

Kushina then turned to face Mikoto again, and whispered "By the way, does it really hurt?" Her face was creeped out beyond believe. Mikoto sweatdropped "So there's actually something that scares you, Kushina! I'm surprised!"

Kushina never got her answer as Biwako decided to drag her away. "Let's go, Kushina!"

Kushina regained her posture "Oh, yes!"

"You know that you giving birth is supposed to be top-secret, so please refrain from any other conversations with friends, okay?" Biwako asked.

"Of course, Koharu-san!"

**Later, in a cave on the outskirts of Konoha, heavily guarded by ANBU**

"AAAAAH! This really hurts, ya know!" Kushina screamed out. She had prepared for the pain of giving birth, but she wasn't prepared for this much! This was worse than getting the ninetails sealed inside of her!

Kushina lied on a stone bed, and Minato was busy focusing on keeping the ninetails seal together, but he couldn't help giving Kushina a worried look.

"Um, I've never seen her cry out in pain like this before. Is she okay?" Minato asked nervously. Stupid question, he knew that. A baby needed to be pushed out of her, uhm… you know…  
But he just couldn't help it. He was worried sick for his wife!

"Of course she is! Anyway, you're supposed to be watching the Kyuubi's seal!" Biwako responded, trying to keep her attention on the baby.

"But, she is…" Minato tried to ask but he was cut off by Biwako. "You are the fourth hokage, show some composture. This much pain would be unbearable for a man! But women are strong!"

Minato focused on the seal once again, and just in time too, as the Kyuubi decided that this would be a good moment to be a prick and tried to break free from his chains.

Minato winced "It's so strong! It's trying to break free! Hang in there, Kushina! Hang in there… Naruto!"

Meanwhile, outside of the cave, the ANBU who were supposed to guard the cave were all killed, and lied bleeding in the river at the foot of the hill where Naruto was being born. A man in a cloak with red clouds was strangling the last of the black ops unit, and then proceeded to the barrier. He made a few handsigns, and walked through the barrier undetected. He then slowly made his way to the cave.

"The head is out! Your'e almost done, Kushina!" Biwako encouraged. The medical ninja next to her also gave her some encouraging words.

But inside Kushina, the Kyuubi roared. Even though Minato was the fourth hokage, he didn't have a monstrous amount of chakra like his wife. Instead, he mostly relied on his skills. But they couldn't help him now. "Naruto, hurry up and come out! Kyuubi, you stay in there!" Minato shouted as he was pushing all of his chakra into the seal.

For what seemed like ages, nobody said a word, and only the moaning of Kushina was heard. Minato was almost at his limit of how much chakra he could push at a time, as suddenly, Kushina's moaning stopped, the strain on the seal grew weaker, and a baby's cry was heared. The tension everybody felt soon disappeared, and feelings of joy and pride filled the room. Minato walked over to Naruto, and held him in his arms. He then carried Naruto over to Kushina, and showed her their son. He then started to laugh a bit "Ha ha…! I'm a father now!

Kushina smiled weakly at her newborn child "Naruto… We finally meet…"

Minato regained his professionalism, and turned his gaze from Naruto to Kushina "All right. I know it's rough having just given birth, but we need to completely suppress the Kyuubi again."

"Yeah…" Kushina wanted to answer but was cut short as two small screams sounded in the cave.

Minato turned around, only to see the man in the red clouded cloak standing there. Minato's eyes grew in horror as he recalled the mission that nearly cost him his student's life. There, the same man stood, his black hair marking his identity, and his red eyes glowing in the dark. Kushina stared at the man, and found that there was something familiar with him, although she was positive she had never seen the man before. But it was something about him that gave her a nostalgic feeling…

"Yondaime, If you do not want your son to die a painful death, I would suggest stepping away from the jinchuuriki!" the main said. His voice sounded a lot stronger then last time, and the man didn't look as… fragile. He was a lot stronger then when they last met.

The man's patience ran out, and as he grabbed a kunai, he threw Naruto up in the air. He wanted to strike, but didn't hit anything as Minato grabbed Naruto.

"Impressive. But…" the cloaked man said as Minato noticed the paperbombs attached to Naruto's blanket. He instantly used hiraishin to teleport away, right in time to dodge the explosion. He knew it was dangerous to leave Kushina unattended, but he had to bring his son to safety first.

The man then walked over to Kushina. He made a one-handed seal, and several chains shot up from the ground and bound her to the table.

"Too bad that I cannot move you to a better suited location, but this will do fine I guess" the man said.

"What do you want from me?" Kushina aksed.

"I'm going to extract the Nine Tails from you and crush Konoha!" the man proclaimed.

"What…!?" Kushina uttered

"The ninetails seal is weakened during childbirth, and the fourth is somewhere playing with his son. Do you know how long I wated for this? The man said. He went through a series of hand seals, and suddenly, the small mark on his forehead started to glow. A black pattern started to spread around the man's face, and his red eye's started to glow brighter. The man closed them, only to open them again and reveal his sharingan.

"You have the sharingan? How is that possible?!" Kushina demanded to know.

"When I used this body as a vessel, I found out that it couldn't handle the sharingan, so I decided to seal it away. Luckily for me, the body knew a lot of sealing jutsu by reflex. I think it's someone from your clan, _Uzumaki_ Kushina!" the man said as he used the sharingan to take control over the ninetails. The ninetails eyes went from a small black slit to 3 tomoe circling around a black pupil. The tailed beast then proceeded to do whatever he could to break free from the seal, but Minato appeared behind the cloaked man and threw a punch at his face. The man barely noticed it thanks to the sharingan, but managed to dodge the blow.

"You are too late, Yondaime! Even you cannot stop the extraction now! Watch as your wife dies, and your village get's destroyed! He madly proclaimed as one by one, tails out of red liquid started to form around kushina. As the ninth tail formed, Kushina screamed in agony as the ninetails crawled out of the seal. Due to his size and enormous power, the ninetails shattered the hill they were in, and Minato ran over to Kushina and instantly teleported her to where he left Naruto.

"Minato, you've got to… stop that man… and the Nine Tails… They're planning… to destroy Konoha…" Kushina muttered as her exhaustion was starting to get the better of her. First she had to get Naruto out of her, who was already big enough. But the ninetails? Even she could only handle so much.

Minato grabbed his coat that said "Fourth Hokage", and prepared himself to face the ninetails.

The cloaked man had made his way to konoha. He stood in the silent streets, as it was nighttime. He started making a few hand seals, bit his thumb, put his hand on the grounded and shouted "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" as the ninetails appeared in the middle of the village. The tailed beast instantly charged up a tailed beast bomb, and fired it right at the faces in the hokage mountain. Minato stood on the first's head, and was ready to face the ninetailes like his predecessor. He grabbed one of his raijin kunai, and a giant wall of distorted space-time appeared in front of him as it blocked the tailed beast bomb and teleported it away from the village. By now, most of the village shinobi had been woken up by the commotion, and the three members of team Minato were no exception.

Obito was alarmed by the noise coming from the centre of the village. Of all the day's for the clan to have a meeting! He cursed, but was shocked as he turned around and saw the Kyuubi standing there in the village, facing off against his sensei. He looked in awe as several of the village's shinobi leapt at the beast, who effortlessly swooped them away with one arm.

Kakashi had been wide awake when this all happened. He just couldn't believe it. One moment, it was a silent night, and another, a giant fox appeared in the village, destroying everything within its reach! He apoligised to his father as he left the memorial stone of killed ninja behind him, and prepared himself for the toughest battle yet.

Rin had been peacefully asleep. With all the missions they had been given by their sensei… ahum, the Fourth Hokage, she was happy to be able to have a good rest. But her night was cut short as a giant claw destroyed the house next to her, and she was abruptly woken up. She jumped out of her bed, and into her closet. In less than 3 seconds, she jumped out in her ninja gear, a medic kit bound to her waist, and proceeded to go and help during the assault.

As if they had practiced it a thousand times, the team gathered on the same rooftop. Rin stared in fear at the display before her, Kakashi's face looked more serious than ever, and Obito was just raging mad

"How did that damned thing show up in the village without us seeing it coming? It's almost as big as the Hokage monument!" he said.

Kakashi nodded "Your'e right, this isn't just a random bijuu attack. I'd bet my fathers blade that this is a setup. But by who…"

"We don't have time for this! There are innocent villagers that need to be saved! Let's go guys!" Rin said as she readied her chakra for the mystical palm technique. Obito and Kakashi prepared themselves to go and fight the ninetails, as suddenly Asuma Sarutobi jumped next to them.

"On orders of the Third Hokage, everybody that is about our age has to gather near the Inuzuka district" he said as he dashed off, presumably to warn more people. Obito turned at his teammates. "Why do we have to gather? Shouldn't we help the villagers out? This is a complete waste of time!" He proclaimed, but Kakashi shook his head. "If lord Third thinks this is the best course of action, we cannot disobey him. They probably have made a battle plan or something.

As they arrived on the meeting spot, they saw a lot of other shinobi gathered there. They ran over to Kurenai and Gai, who were also send there by Asuma. They wanted to bomb them with questions, as a voice spoke up and got everybody's attention.

"Attention to all shinobi gathered here! My name is Hiromu Yuhi, and I am here to bring you the word of the Third Hokage. All of you will stay here and will not partake in the battle that is going on!"

The young shinobi all stood there in disbelief, and many of them got angry. "You cannot do that! There are innocent people dying there! We should go help them! What kind of decision is that?!" they all said as they were questioning Hiromu.

"Listen, Lord Third doesn't want you to partake because you are the future of the hidden leaf. You need to be there for the next generation of ninja, to guide them on their path. You all inherited the will of fire, and now it is your job to pass it on to them!" The crowd stood in silence, and their feelings were diverse, but nobody dared to move away. Only Obito stood there, shaking in anger as Hiromu dashed off towards the battlefield.

Minato prepared himself to absorb another tailed beast bomb, but the cloaked man intercepted him.

"You won't mess up my plans again, Yondaime!" he said daringly as the two started to have a face-off. They started to measure each other's strength, by leaping at eachother with their kunai. Minato knew he didn't have a second to lose, so he decided to step things up a bit. He threw one of his Hiraishin kunai at the man, who easily caught it. Minato wanted to flash towards him, but found himself unable to do so. Then the man let go of the kunai, and Minato noticed that a red seal was placed on top of his Hiraishin seal. "_This man… He managed to bypass the barrier undetected, and now he can block a seal in an instant? I have never seen such mastery over fuinjutsu!" _Minato thought as he took out another kunai.

"The outcome will just be the same. You cannot use your jutsu, as I will just mess up the seal again. Face it, your best technique is useless against me!" the man said as he thought victory was his.

Minato flung the kunai at the man, who reached out his hand to intercept it. He almost reached it, but suddenly, a yellow flash of light blinded his eyes, as Minato blinked on top of him.

"RASENGAN!" Minato shouted. The man was pushed into the ground as a burning pain enveloped his body. He felt his bones crumble as he smashed into the ground.

"I never thought you would be able to use such a high-class jutsu in mid-air. But then again, you are the fourth hokage. My arrogance was my undoing in this match. But I have won the battle! Even you can't stop the ninetails now!" The man said spotting.

"_He has the sharingan, black hair, and the power to control the ninetails… Could he be_?" "Are you… Madara Uchiha?" Minato asked. The man merely smirked at the statement as he answered "Not quite". But before Minato could ask any further, a plant resembling a venus flycatcher appeared from under the man, as it engulfed him and pulled him underground. Minato reached for him, but he couldn't catch the man. Again, even his speed wasn't enough. But he had other things to worry about, as he ran over to the ninetails, prepared to fight alongside his subordinates.

"Lord fourth! Inoichi said happily as Minato landed next to him. "How are things here?" Minato asked. Inoichi winced "So far, there are about 2500 death's counted, presumably more, and a lot of wounded. We cannot stop the ninetails's attacks, as they are too strong. We are merely enough to slow him down. I have never seen a power like this before!" he said trembling. Minato couldn't blame him: this was a truly terrifying sight.

Minato thought, his brain on overdrive. He only saw one outcome: sealing. He had to make a jinchuuriki. But who could he seal the ninetails in? Himself? He would most likely die during the process, only delaying the revival of the ninetails again. No, he had to find a host who would be able to keep the ninetails in check for many years to come, who would be able to tame him, and turn into a power for the village. With what he had seen today, the village was in more danger than he could possibly comprehend right now. But who would be a good host? A young person that Minato trusted with his life. There was Kushina, but resealing the ninetails in her meant sudden death. There was Kakashi, but he didn't have the chakra levels to keep him sealed. The Uchiha clan would murder him if he sealed the kyuubi in one of them, so Obito was out of the question as well, and Rin already was a jinchuuriki.

He could only think of one person. His heart broke as he made his decision, and prepared himself to flash the ninetails out of the village, to where his wife and son were resting.

Minato leapt at Kurama, who aimed a furious fist straight at him. As they made contact, Minato flashed Kurama to the outskirts of the village, but he was slammed into a tree in the process. Minato stood up and regained his form, as he looked at Kushina and Naruto. Kushina had crawled outside to see what was going on. She didn't understand what Minato did here again, but decided to try and be of help. The ninetails swung his claws at Minato again, who didn't have enough chakra for another Hiraishin, but suddenly found himself wrapped up in chakra chains, and unable to move. Minato ran over to Kushina, who was now coughing up blood.

"Are you all right?" he asked. "_SHE'S COUGHING UP BLOOD, OF COURSE SHE ISN'T ALRIGHT!_" his thoughts shouted paniced. Kushina just gave him a smile as blood drooled from her mouth.

"Minato, can you please go get Naruto one more time so I can see him? I don't have much time left…" she asked weakly. She still had some chakra left, but her body had suffered serious damage from getting a Bijuu extracted, and was in really bad shape. Minato did as asked, and went to get Naruto. Kushina smiled as she kept him in his arms one more time as she cried tears of joy. "If I saw us all being together as a family, I couldn't picture my life anything else but perfect. Thank you, Minato, for being by my side all this time. But now, we will part ways…" she said as she gave Naruto back to Minato. "I will use my chains to pull the Kyuubi back in me, so if I die, I will delay it's revival, so you can prepare for it." She said as her hands slowly waved trough handseals. Minato stoped her.

"No. We cannot delay this problem. We need to reseal the Kyuubi into someone else, who will become it's jinchuuriki. And the only suitable person, is…" he said as he gave Naruto a sad look.

"NO! Minato! You cannot do that! Don't make Naruto carry a burden like that! He shouldn't be punished for what happened here today!" Kushina said with tears in her eyes. She knew what jinchuuriki had to go trough in their lives, and didn't want Naruto to be the same.

"I know it's said Kushina. But I have faith in Naruto. One day, he will learn to work alongside the Kyuubi, and he will become a hero to the village. I believe that Naruto is the only one who can do it. Out of all of the villagers, Naruto is the one I have the most faith in, and only in a few hours time. I just hope that the village will look at it the same way" he said as he turned to Kushina. Her eyes were still sad, but she had faith in her husband's decision. She would support his choice, as she knew that Naruto would forever be Naruto, what other people may say about him. As she made the signs, she put up a barrier to prevent any attacks to reach Konoha.

Minato turned to the kyuubi, and said "Kushina, I will use the Shiki Fujin _(= Dead Demon Consuming Seal, the one used by the Third Hokage on Orochimaru) _to seal your remaining chakra in Naruto as well, and a little bit of my own. This way, we can help him if he would ever lose control over the bijuu. Should her try to release the ninth tail before he is ready, I will stop him. If he ever tries to overcome the ninetails, you can help him. This way, we can both be there for our son."

"But using that technique will kill you! Minato, would you really give away your life just so I can talk to my son once? It's not worth it! Our son deserves a chance to grow up with at least one parent! Don't kill yourself of for a stupid reason like that. Just be there whenever he needs you, not when the ninetails tries to escape!" Kushina pleaded. Growing up with a bijuu was bad, but being all alone during your childhood was worse. She had witnessed the fall of her clan, and didn't want Naruto to feel the same pain.

Obito was burning up. People were dying, and he was just supposed to do nothing. He tried to keep calm and follow orders, until he heard something that made him snap.

It was a sigh, a sigh of relief. Somebody, god knows who, was happy he didn't have to fight the kyuubi. Obito could understand why, but even so they were shinobi! They had their pride aswell!

"How can they expect us to pass on the will of fire if we aren't even allowed to follow it? Now that the village needs us, we are forbidden to help! I cannot accept that! I will be hokage one day, so I cannot let the village down now!" he exclaimed furiously as he dashed off towards the battlefield.

The mood in the room had changed. Some other people were obviously thinking about going to help as well. Kakashi remembered his father's sacrifice, and decided that he couldn't let it go to waste. As he moved, he saw Rin turn towards the village centre aswell, followed by Guy who said "Yosh! It would be most unyouthfull to let the village down in its time of need. It's time for the green beast of Konoha to help against this most unyouthfull threat!"

Ebisu turned to them "You cannot just disobey orders like that! We are shinobi for god's sake! You aren't worthy of being a ninja if you disobey orders that come directly from an ex-hokage!"

Kakashi stopped in his tracks. He didn't turned around, he just spoke his best friends words "Those who disobey the rules are trash, that's true. But those who would abandon their friends are worse than trash" he said as he started walking towards the village again, leaving a stunned Ebisu behind.

Obito appeared next to the Third Hokage, who stood behind the barrier Kushina had put up. He saw the face of the Third look in horror at Minato-sensei, who stood there in front of the Kyuubi. He knew that it was dangerous, but shouldn't the Third have more confidence in Minato?

"That fool! What is he thinking using that technique!?" the Third scowled as he noticed Obito who wanted to ask what he meant, but the Third reacted faster "Obito, didn't I order you to stay safe during this battle?" he said as he looked him in the eye. Obito shrugged "That's not important right now. I can't let the village down now! What technique were you saying that sensei was using? I don't see him do anything!" Obito said as he turned towards the barrier.

The third thought about how to explain it. "He is using a sealing technique that kills the user. He is planning to drag the Kyuubi with him to his death! Only people who made a pact with the demon god can see the summon" the Third explained as he turned his gaze to Minato. The demon god slowly reached for his scroll, it would only be a matter of seconds now.

"We need to stop him! He can't do that!" Obito shouted as he punched the barrier.

"If I could get in the barrier, I'd seal the ninetails myself, but I can't get in. Kushina certainly is a masterfull sealing expert…" the Third replied as he almost gave up. Obito then realized that he could get the Third in. "If I can get you inside the barrier, would you stop Minato-sensei then?" he asked with hopefull eyes. Hiruzen watched as the shinigami licked the scroll. "Yes, I would seal the ninetails myself, so that young Minato doesn't have to die a pointless death" he answered slowly as he turned to Obito, only to be shocked to see his mangekyou sharingan. As the mangekyou spun, Sarutobi felt his body twist away, and reappear next to Minato, as Obito teleported himself over to Kushina, to help her lean against him. "_It seems like the village has more stability as I first thought, Tobirama-sensei. The Uchiha clan have more ninja loyal to the village every generation. Now, it's the next generation's turn to maintain balance!_" he thought to himself, as he ran up to Minato.

The death god was about to stab Minato, as suddenly his concentration broke, and the death god missed. Sarutobi had punched him in his stomach, and he flew a few meters backwards. He looked at him in disbelief, as the Third gave him his signature smile. "Sorry Minato, I don't know about another way to stop someone from performing that seal" he said as he turned around to face the kyuubi. Minato was about to object, as Sarutobi cut in "Minato, my generation is old. Our beliefs and our ways are not what is necessary anymore. We need someone young to lead the village. The next generation of Shinobi who will guide the leaf on the right path. It is your duty as the Fourth Hokage to maintain the balance of power and freedom in the village. I cannot do it, I am too old. At least now, I can give my life protecting the village". He then turned his head towards Naruto, who was crying in his dying mother's arms. "Raise that son to be a hero the leaf can be proud of, Minato. That is an order!" Sarutobi said.

Minato stood up, his eyes hiding from the light. Nobody was allowed to see all the emotions that currently painted his face. He went through some handseals, and an altar shot up from the ground. Minato took Naruto out of his exhausted wife's hands, an put him on the altar.

The kyuubi looked at Naruto. "**They intend to seal me again? In that infant nonetheless? What a joke! I will kill him before they ever get the chance!**" Kurama said as he swung his claw at Naruto. Kushina tightened her chains and Minato and Sarutobi jumped in front of Naruto, but all of this was pointless as the claw suddenly stopped midair. **"I, I can't move anymore! It's like my will has been taken away from me!"** the fox said as he tried to regain control.

Obito's eyes stung like hell, but he couldn't close them now. He didn't know why he knew glaring at the ninetails would work, he just did. As he felt blood seeping out of his eye socket, his eyes began hurting even more. "I can't keep him under control forever! Seal him NOW!" he screamed as the pain became even worse. Only a few more seconds were left.

The Third flashed through the handseals as the demon god appeared. "Kushina, if there is anything you want to tell your son, tell him now! He shouted as the demon god took out his scroll and blade, and gave them a lick.

Kushina stood up, releasing her chakra chains. She stumbled over to Naruto, and gave him a happy smile. "Naruto, make sure you eat your vegetables, not only what you like. You need them to grow strong. And don't go to bed too early, you need a good night sleep. And make friends. You don't need a lot, just a few really good ones. And about the three prohibitions… well, don't drink too much alcohol, as it isn't healthy. Also, make sure to save your money instead of spending all of it on useless things. And when it comes to women… Well, as a girl myself I don't really know about all that, just make sure that when you marry someone, it's a good girl… Someone like me. Oh, and talking about the three prohibitions, beware of Jiraiya-sama. He may look like a cool shinobi, but he is a bad influence. If you want a good role model, I hope it will be someone like your father, or Kakashi, or…  
she smiled at Hiruzen. …or someone like lord Third. They are all really nice people to look up to" tears rolled from her eyes as she finally cried her heart out. "As a mother… there are so many things that I want to teach you… just know that I love you… with all my heart! Naruto!" she shouted as the ninetails regained control again, but hiruzen finally finished the seal, pulling out his chakra. He then sealed half of his chakra inside himself, and the other half in Naruto. He then stumbled to Kushina, and placed his hand on her stomach, pulling out her remaining chakra, and sealing it inside Naruto as well. The image of the demon god then took his blade, and slammed it into Hiruzen as he screamed "THE SEAL IS SET!"

Then everything went quit. Everybody just stood there in silence, as the emotion and fatigue finally took their toll.

As the reinforcements arrived, they all stood in awe as they saw Hiruzen lie there motionless, and watched as their hokage cried over his wife's dead body, holding Naruto In his arms, crying with his father. Obito stood up, and walked over to the reinforcements, who were all dumbfounded and lost their sense of direction. "Take lord Third's body back to the village, and help the Hokage and his son up on their feet. I will tell the other's what happened" he said as he passed them. Normally, at least one of them would start to argue that he didn't have the authority, but any sense of direction was good now. As Obito walked back to the village, he looked up, and finally started crying as well. Nobody deserved what had happened here today, not a single soul. He just hoped not to many people had died today.

As he stood in the aftermath of the battle, Obito finally understood why the Third wanted them to stay safe. He didn't want them experience the horror that occurred tonight.

**Man, what a depressing day it was today. First I watched the ending of pewdiepie's corpse party let's play (the entire series was utterly depressing :( ) and now I had to write this kind of chapter… When I wrote kushina's last words, I almost started to cry. I think that moment that Naruto's parents died was one of the saddest moments in the storyline, only topped by Jiraiya's death. I don't think I did them right either: no words can explain the sadness in that moment. I really hope you guys can sleep tonight, because I sure as hell cant! (But that might have to do with the big party they are throwing next to my house '(-_-) ) ANYWAYS! Thank you so much for reading this chapter of Konoha's blazing eyes! Oh, and by the way: the title will be explained either next chapter, or the chapter after that. Don't forget to follow this story and add it to your favorites, ( I need to remember that this is , not youtube :P) and I hope to have next chapter up… either tomorrow, or in two days! (I enjoy updating frequently, so you guys don't have to wait too long)**

**P.S.: If you wanna complain about me spoiling Jiraiya's death… then what are you doing on a fanfiction site? I mean come on! Even the description of this fanfiction spoiled a major plot twist in the series! If you don't want spoilers, then don't come to this site, because you will find your biggest nightmare! (I did too, but more in the form of many naru/sasu yaoi fanfics… THE HORROR!)**


	6. Chapter 6: after the aftermath

**This is gonna be a tough one, I bet. Never wrote this kind of chapter yet.**

It's been 2 months since the ninetails attacked konoha. The village elders took over the duty of ruling the village in these 2 months, so Minato could mourn his wife and take care of his son. The fact that Naruto was a jinchuuriki was kept secret from all the villagers. So of course the whole village practically knew already.

Minato was running through his office, which now practically looked like a crèche. Everything needed to take care of a baby was there. And of course, Minato was once again trying to calm Naruto down, who was crying for food. "If he's so hungry he could always go to the ramen shop!" Minato thought annoyed. Don't get him wrong, he loved Naruto with all his heart. It's just that he already was so busy with getting the village running again after "that" day , and now he had to take care of his son as well! As fast as he was, even he could only do so much at a time. Luckily for him, his only female student had taken pity on him, so she would occasionally help him out so he could relax. Minato was about to feed Naruto as someone knocked on the door.

"Enter!" Minato said as he gently fed Naruto. He watched as Rin, Kakashi and Obito walked through the door.

"Team Minato has returned from their mission, Hokage-sama!" Obito proclaimed as he snickered at the sight of Minato feeding his son while sitting on a improvised chair of paperwork. It were times like these that Obito started to doubt the title of Hokage was really worth it.

"Good to see you three! Rin, can you hold Naruto for a second?" asked pleadingly as Rin gently took Naruto from Minato. Some people may think that Minato takes advantage her, but Rin enjoys nothing more than taking care of Naruto. She doesn't know why, but she likes the small blonde with whisker marks for some reason. She fed Naruto from the bottle, as she watched Minato run over to his desk and grab hold of some documents and a pen.

"So, judging by your cheerfulness and the fact that you are all still alive, I take it the mission was a success?" Minato asked as he smiled at them. In these days of pain and suffering, they were the only ones who managed to lighten his mood. They and Naruto, of course.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. We successfully got rid of the bandit camp. We have slain their leader and captains, and the other bandits have now scattered. We then burned the camp to the ground after we took all of their stolen goods and returned it to the village they robbed" Kakashi reported as Minato sighed at him. "Kakashi, Rin and Obito, how many times do I have to tell you you don't have to call me Hokage-sama? No matter what happens, you three may always call me sensei, or even Minato if you prefer. I think we are close enough for that, aren't we?" he said as he finished filling in the document. After he was done, he turned the paper to them and handed them a pen.

"Just sign off as usual, and you are free for the rest of the day. There aren't that many missions lately with the state of the village and such" he said as Kakashi took the pen and filled in his name. Obito and Rin did the same. After they did they all said their goodbyes to Minato and wanted to leave, but Rin turned around. "Sensei, you want me to help you with Naruto again today?" she said smiling as she heard Naruto laugh a little upon being picked up by Minato. "No, it's allright. It's bedtime for Naruto anyways, and I'm sure you are all tired aswell after the mission. Even though you are still young, you need some rest aswell" he said. "You say that, but you need rest aswell, hok… sensei" Kakashi answered. Talking casually to the Hokage was not in his nature, so to seem.

Minato laughed at Kakashi's words. "Haha, guess you are right about that. But I'll be okay, don't worry. It's my duty as his father to take care of him, not yours" he smiled as he put Naruto in his bed, a plushy next to him, and watched as Naruto peacefully went to sleep.

As team Minato left the room, they were all surprised by their sensei's cheerfulness. With everything going on, they knew their sensei was busy, and even though he was done mourning, he still hadn't gotten over Kushina's death. They knew how hard it must be for him. With these thoughts in their head, the three walked out of the hokage building.

"Hey guys, it's Christmas in a few days, right? So what if we surprise him by throwing a small Christmas party at his house? I'm sure he would appreciate it, and it would be good for him to blow of some steam too. It will take his mind off of things" Obito proposed, and Rin nodded. "Sensei told me that after his parent's died, he never had anyone to celebrate Christmas with. I'm sure he would appreciate it" Rin added. Even Kakashi nodded, but didn't say anything. He didn't really know what it was like to celebrate Christmas. Ever since his father died, he thought of Christmas as just another day. He thought that celebrating Christmas with their sensei was a good idea, even though he may do it a little bit for himself. But he would never admit it!

"Well, we'll talk about it later. Uncle Fugaku told me to come to his house. He wanted to show me something "that may only be shown to members of the Uchiha clan that have come of age, and have unlocked the sharingan" or something like that" Obito said as he dashed of towards the yamanaka district. "Isn't the Uchiha district on the other side of the village?" Rin asked as Kakashi sighed. "That idiot will never learn".

Obito arrived at Fugaku's house, and saw Fugaku train Itachi. Understandable, as Itachi recently became genin, an incredible feat at his age. Obito walked in Fugaku's line of sight, who nodded at Obito, before focusing on Itachi again. The boy was currently busy practicing the goukakyuu no jutsu, and he almost had it down. Learning that technique meant that the Uchiha clan would accept you, and Itachi mastering it in only one day was an amazing feat. As Itachi made the seals, he bent backwards, and then fired a enormous fireball from his mouth. "Well done, Itachi. You preformed the jutsu on first try, and you already mastered it a few hours later. I'm proud of you, son" Fugaku said as he gestured Itachi to go inside, which the boy did obediently. "He will be a great ninja, without a doubt" Obito said. Fugaku only nodded in agreement, but his eyes revealed his pride for his son.

"Anyways, Obito, there is something you have to see. Now that you have come of age and awakened the sharingan, you are allowed to read the stone tablet in the Uchiha meeting room. This sacred stone contains the true secrets of the sharingan, aswell as the regulations the Uchiha clan must follow" Fugaku said as he turned towards the gate of the Uchiha district and walked off with Obito right behind him. Meanwhile, Obito was confused. He never heard of this stone tablet, let alone a secret meeting place! He wondered why it was kept secret from him and the rest of the village. Hoping that these questions would all be answered in due time, he followed silently, not wanting to anger his "Uncle".

As they arrived at the Naka shrine, Obito wondered why they were there, but was quickly silenced as Fugaku moved a big boulder, revealing a staircase downwards. As they walked down, Obito looked left and right. Pictures of all the clanleaders trough the generations hung on the wall, and torches that didn't seem to burn up were put on the stairs. As they walked downstairs, a giant hall became visible. A large table and chairs were put in the middle, and all the way in the back, a altar stood, with a big stone tablet. Was this what they came here to see? His questions were quickly answered as Fugaku spoke up. "Read this tablet in front of you" he said. Obito turned to the tablet, but couldn't make out a word. He could faintly see letters, but nothing that actually made sense.

"Read what, uncle? I only see some randomly placed letters" Obito complained. Fugaku sighed "Read it with your SHARINGAN, boy!" he commanded as Obito tensed and activated his sharingan. Suddenly, the random letters were joined by others, and sentences became clear. Obito started to read aloud "_This is ye monument of ye Uchiha clan. If thou art able to read these words, thou have the eyes of a Kaiser. Thou eyes are divine, and blessed. Thou eyes art deceptive, and thou reflexes blessed by the shinju-kami. But the eyes of a Kaiser and the eyes of a god art still different. When thou know true pain, thou eyes can control the most wicked demons. Thou eyes have the power to rain terror on thy nemesis with powers greater than those of others. But that is not the limit of thy ocular prowess…_ Now there is another section I can't read, even with the sharingan" Obito said as his uncle stared at him.

"Now use your mangekyou, Obito. Don't worry, just activate it. If you don't use the jutsu, you won't go blind. But don't read this section out loud, as I am not allowed to know what it says, as I do not have the mangekyou unlike you" he said with a voice with a liiiitle bit of a jealous undertone. Obito smirked and read the rest of the tablet with his mangekyou sharingan. "_If thy take thy brother's prowess, thou powers shall be infinite. Thou art now able to scratch the plane of the gods. With thy prowess, thy shall not feel pain upon using thy divine ninshu. Thy can become one with the chakra demons, and lay siege to countries. Upon taking the eyes of thy brother, thou prowess are eternal. But to become Kami itself, thy must take thy cousin's genes. Thy must control the plant and trees. Thy must be able to make the land to thy bidding. Only then, thy shall find true greatness. Then, thou can summon the form of Kami, and together with the chakra demons, save the Uchiha clan by bringing the world into a dream that will cast it's shadow over the land. Thy will be the the savior of the Uchiha's!" _Obito read silently as he thought about what he read. So basically, some stuck up old man thought he was god and wrote all this down with a rusty chisel. I mean come on, this sounded all a little bit too unbelievable. Someone with the power to become god? What was that even supposed to mean? Obito thought about it as he decided it wasn't worth it. He and his uncle returned to the Uchiha compound without speaking a word. When they arrived at the gate, Fugaku spoke up one last time. "Now that you know our meeting place and the secret's of our clan, you are also expected to show up on clan meetings. You are the only one left to represent your family, so make sure to be a good representation of the Uchiha clan. Do NOT make a fool of yourself, brat!" His uncle said as he returned home. Obito had many questions, but it would take more than a century to muster up enough courage to tell his uncle he didn't understand a word of what was written on the tablet. He paid it no more mind, and decided it was a good idea to go check up on shisui. Ever since he had gotten in the academy, Obito hadn't seen his cousin a lot anymore.

Kakashi was reading in his new book, icha icha paradise, while walking through the streets of Konoha.  
Apparently the legendary sannin, Jiraiya, also makes a great writer. He was only a few pages into the book, but Ebisu told him the book becomes "the perfect blend of spicyness and manliness that guys of our age need!" (with a bleeding nose, I might add). But nonetheless, Kakashi gave it a try. He flipped a page as suddenly a ninja clad in green jumped in front of him. "Ah, Kakashi! My eternal rival! It must be fated that we meet here under the bright sun in the middle of Konoha! Thus hereby, I challenge you to a summon the biggest animal competition!" Might Guy said as he struck a "nice guy" pose. Kakashi stared at him as he said "you don't even have a summoning contract, idiot". Might guy sweatdropped as he began to brag "Well, eh, I will just give it my best shot to summon a companion who will be even more hip then you, Kakashi!" Kakashi blankly stared at him as if he had just gone mad, but then realized something and said "sure, I accept. But let's take it to the training grounds. We don't want to summon a giant boar or something in the middle of the village, right?"

"Haha! I knew you would see it my way, Kakashi! That is why we are eternal rivals after all!" he said as he flipped over and stood on his hands. "YOSH! Let's go the the training grounds!" he exclaimed excited as he walked to training ground 5, followed by a slightly embarrassed Kakashi.

As they arrived, Kakashi spoke up "Alright, do you even know the handseals for the kuchiyose no jutsu?" Might guy struck another nice guy pose "I have no clue whatsoever!" he proudly confessed as Kakashi sweatdropped. "Alright then, first you perform the handseals, like so, and then you bite your thumb, and make sure you bled a little bit. Then you quickly mark all your fingers with your blood, put your hand on the ground and push as much chakra as you can" Kakashi said as he preformed the jutsu, summoning Pakkun, who looked slightly annoyed. "Kakashi, I get that you wanna show off, but don't summon me when there is no reason, okay?" he complained, but he smirked after Kakashi whispered "believe me, this will be worth your time. That idiot is gonna perform the summoning without a contract". They both looked at Guy, who made the handsigns and bit his thumb. "Yosh! Kuchiyose no jutsu!" he said as he put his hand on the ground. Smoke appeared, and where Might Guy once stood, he now stood no more. Kakashi smirked evilly. Obito was having a bad influence on him.

And he liked it.

Rin laid on her bed, thinking about Kushina. Ever since she became a jinchuuriki, nearly everybody shunned her. Only her closest friends still saw her for who she was, and after helping out during the ninetails invasion, some other villagers also accepted her due to her helping and healing the wounded. These past few years hadn't been easy, but Rin managed fine until now.

But during these years of being isolated by most of the village, one person came up to her and had given her the much needed support: Kushina Uzumaki. Minato had introduced her to his team, and she and Kushina instantly found they had a lot more in common than being a jinchuuriki. First of all, they both wanted to live the happy family life. Second of all, they both enjoyed Minato's company, and third of all, maybe the most important factor, they both understood one another perfectly. When one had a problem, the other could understand, even though there was a big gap in age. Kushina had become Rin's closest female friend, and losing her wasn't easy. Kushina's dreams of having a family and seeing her son grow up to be a nice ninja were crushed on the day that should have been the happiest day of her life. Rin sighed. There was no point in sulking now, she had to be there for Naruto. She remembered a talk she had with Kushina.

**One year earlier**

Kushina and Rin were currently eating Ramen at Ichiraku's. Kushina, as usual, was stuffing her face with her fifth bowl of ramen as Rin smiled at the sight of her mouth moving at hypersonic speed. They had gone to Ichiraku's after Kushina had thought Rin a few sealing jutsu. Rin had been rather stressed out about the fact that nobody really knew what seal was used. Only Kushina and Jiraiya had a vague idea. Rin wanted to at least understand the basics of sealing, and Kushina was more then happy to teach her.

After the two were done eating, they got in a little of small talk, until Kakashi came up. They didn't remember how they got on the topic, but they were discussing his home situation, and how he looked up to his father.

"…So Kakashi took his father's death far more serious then you know." Kushina said.

"So his father was a great man, huh?" Rin asked

"Yes, but not the greatest father, unlike what many believe. I knew the man personally, and let me tell you, he was terrible at understanding kids" Kushina chuckeled.

"So how did Kakashi manage all on his own?" Rin wanted to know.

"Kakashi always has been pretty independent. He never really knew his mother, so there were some things he missed out on. I think that a family that lost its mother or father has a hard time to come around. Two parents fill in each other. Without one parent, the other has so much work that the child will never be raised as good as with two parents. That's why I want to have a happy family, with both parents there and ready to help their children out" she said, but then added in her thoughts "_and if my suspicions are right, it may not take too long for my dream to come true"._

Kushina and Rin then changed the topic to something completely unrelated.

**Back to the present**

Rin snapped out of her flashback. Yeah, she had one more reason to take care of Naruto. She felt like she owed Kushina. She had done so much for her, but Rin didn't feel like she did enough back. At least she would be there to help raise Naruto so he would be the fine ninja Kushina could be proud of. With her new conviction, Rin left her apartment, dashing off towards the hokage building.

**And there you have it! Another chapter complete! Next chapter, we will see naruto as an academy student, and possibly the start of his ninja carreer. Now, since there are a few more of us then before: do you think Naruto should learn raijinshuu (flying thunder god technique)? I didn't want him to know it at first, but it appears that this is the most popular choice when it comes to "Minato-Kushina alive" fics. If anyone could give me a good reason for him to know the technique, let me know. I just don't think it suits his style? BTW, sorry this chapter took a day longer then promised, and it's not even that long! The thing is, I just wanted to write the first half of this story, but found that the chapter would have been way too short, so I forced myself to keep writing. This chapter took me almost the entire day to write! Anyways, I'm gonna act like a revieuw/favorite whore again, and ask you to do that, I hope you all have a fantastic day/week/month of your life and I will see you all next chapter!**

**Revieuw replies (you can skip this if you want)**

**Greenblue22: I couldn't skip kyuubi attack, as you can see now. And your hunch was correct, HE LIVES!**

**Habdreas323, no name anime fan: thanks for the support! Much appreciated! **

**Renoa-hime: Of course I will continue, thank you princess! And also, writing that kind of revieuw will only support me writing my authors note's, so that's kinda backfiring XD**

**Rosebunse: I know what you mean. I hope you found my ending of the kyuubi attack good too. Anyways, thanks for sharing your opinion!**

**To all of you who didn't revieuw but do follow this story, favorited it, or me or all that stuff, thank you aswell! Honestly, without your support, I would have lost my motivation to write a long time ago. You are the oil to keep my gear running! *sniffs shirt* Hmm, although a shower may be in place now…**


	7. Chapter 7: Falling apart

**Allright, i have an idea for this story, just came up with it when doing random stuff, and i just gotta work out how to implement it into the story. This is gonna be a tough one!**

Naruto was running through the house, trying to find his clothes. Only having a father meant that the house he lived in was a mess. You almost couldn't see the carpet anymore. "_Do we even have a carpet?" _He wondered. As he went through his closet, his eyes fell on his favorite jumpsuite. He didn't need a reason to pick his favorite outfit and got dressed. As he ran downstairs, he was greeted by his father, who gave him a happy smile. "Ah, good morning Naruto! Had a good night sleep?" Minato asked. "Yes daddy!" Naruto answered. Minato still had to get used to having a mini version of himself running around the house with Kushina's personality. But he loved Naruto more than anything in the world.

"Alright Naruto, are you ready for your first day in the academy?" Minato asked. His son just put up a huge grin, and said "Off course I am! It will be my first step towards becoming hokage, believe it!" Naruto answered. Minato chuckled at the striking resemblance with his mother. He walked over to Naruto, picked him up and sat him in his neck. "Alright then, lord hokage. Let's get you to the academy!" He said as they left the house.

As they walked through the village, people bowed down to Minato and wished Naruto good luck, but Naruto couldn't help but feel the cold stares some of the villagers would give him. He never understood why, but nobody treated him like a normal person except his father and his old team. People either treated him with so much respect that it felt awkward, or either looked at him with glaring eyes, as if he was the devil himself. Naruto always wondered why, but decided that they must be jealous. But that didn't take away that being shunned or being expected to do great things was fun. That's why he wanted to be hokage: so people would see him for who he was, and to crawl out of his father's shadow. Not that he held it against his father, Naruto loved his father more than anybody else in the world.

Naruto and Minato arrived at the academy. The nerves had finally gotten to Naruto, who now pressed his back against his father's leg. Naruto looked up, only to see his father give him a confident smile. This was enough for Naruto, as he bravely dashed off to the playgrounds. "Bye daddy!" he shouted as he entered the academy gate. Minato smiled as he watched his son start his shinobi career.

A ninja with a white crow mask appeared next to Minato, the leaf emblem tattooed on his right arm. "Lord Hokage, you are expected on a meeting with the clan heads to discuss the Kyuubi attack" the ANBU said as he flickered away. Minato's face turned grimm, and he turned around and walked to the Hokage building.

Naruto could feel it. The ominous feeling of people glaring at him. As he looked around, about ¼ of the kids were glaring at him, as the other villagers usually would. Most of them were older than him, and would probably graduate this year, so Naruto decided to do the usual: let them be.

Iruka entered the playground. "Allright! Everybody, please gather around me!" he shouted, and the children did so. Some of them looked grumpy, others looked confident, others couldn't care less. Naruto could see that everybody was here for a different reason. "Allright, now that we are all gathered here, for those who don't know, my name is Iruka Umino, and I will be one of your sensei at the academy, together with Mizuki and Rin Nohora. I welcome all of the new students into the academy. Now, for those who will enter for the first time, please gather on the right, for the others, gather on the left. The newcomers will be guided around the school by Rin-sensei, the others will restart their classes with me and Mizuki" Iruka said, and again the students listened. Naruto walked to the right, and stood next to a guy about his age, with pitch black eyes and hair. The boy looked eager to enter the academy, as if he had been waiting since the day he was born. Naruto guessed that that was how he looked right now. The last bit of tension left Naruto's body as he saw Rin walk over to him. Even though he never had a sister, he was almost certain that his relation with Rin was like that of a sibling. Rin had always been there, ready to help him with anything, and Naruto really looked up to her.

Another reason that he liked Rin is because she understood him. Many people look at her the same way they look at him. So Rin had been there when Naruto felt down because of the people's neglect.

"Rin nee-san!" Naruto waved at her. Rin gave him a stern look "That's Rin-sensei for you now, Naruto. Anyways, let's give you guys a tour of the academy". Naruto pouted and some of the kids behind him snickered. But all of Naruto's worries left as Rin smiled at them "Allright, follow me!" she said as a little army of children followed her around.

Minato arrived at the meeting, and watched as all the clan heads greeted him upon entering the room. He took a seat in between the two village elders. "Allright, let's get this meeting going. What is the first thing we were going to discuss?" Minato asked. Danzo immediately spoke up. "Lord hokage, as you are the one who fought the ninetails, can you tell us exactly what happened to begin with? This way, we might figure out why the attack happened in the first place" he said as he gave Fugaku Uchiha a look of distrust. Minato did the story, about the man who extracted the ninetails, the fact that he had great mastery over fuinjutsu, that he possessed a sharingan, he could control the ninetails, everything. The clan heads couldn't believe what they heard. Why would someone with a sharingan try to frame the leaf village?

"…And then the man disappeared into the ground. I then went to face the ninetails, as you all remember. You already know the rest of the story" Minato finished. Again, Danzo spoke up "We finally decided you had a right to know the specifics of what happened seven years ago, so you would be able to give your opinion on the matter. As the heads of the most high standing clans in the leaf, your insight in the matter is of utmost importance" he said, but his face revealed that this was the hokage's decision, and he preferred keeping the details secret from the rest of the village.

Obito, Guy and Asuma were currently on a mission led by Kakashi. They had to safely take out a bandit camp, without leaving a trace. The plan was to take out their leader and captains, so the rest of the bandits would just disperse. Then they would burn down the camp to the ground. Kakashi was leading his jonin team with great professionalism. He had dumped his old outfit, and was now wearing a white, long sleeved shirt with gray pants, a white mask covering his face and his leaf headband bound around his arm. They stopped, Obito jumping next to Kakashi. Obito had dumped his blue jacket, and was now wearing a blue Uchiha shirt with the green shinobi vest. He wore black, rather tight pants with a weapon pouch on his right leg. His leaf headband was still on his head and he no longer wore his goggles over his face, instead they were now hanging loosely around his neck as a reminder of the past.

"Alright, it's time we prepare for the attack. Guy and Obito, you take the main entrance. You two have the most destructive personality and I don't think you'd like to sneak around and hit the enemy from behind, so that will be up to me and Asuma. Asuma, you go from that corner, I go from this one. The mission will start once I give the signal. Allright, let's go!" Kakashi explained as they all jumped off to take positions.

Obito and guy were running towards the entrance of the camp, which was old ruins of a castle. They stationed themselves in some trees, waiting for the signal.

Asuma and Kakashi took their respective positions. Kakashi stood behind a tree, Asuma hid in some bushes. Kakashi formed some handseals, and then shot a small fireball straight into the air. Fast as lightning, Obito and Guy jumped out of their hiding place. Guy ran up front, and smashed the front gate open, which completely crumbled down when they went trough. Obito formed a few handseals, and started to spew fire from his mouth, which he controlled by turning his body. The entire camp got taken by surprise, and many of them perished in the flames. In one of the crumbled towers of the ruins, 3 men got alarmed. "The hell is going on out there?" One of the bandit captains asked. "Go and check it out, you fools!" their leader ordered. The 3 men shivered, and did as ordered. They did not want to mess with Jinpachi Munashi, one of the seven ninja swordsmen! The 3 captains ran outside, preparing to face their adversary.

Obito turned on his sharingan, and took a look around. As he watched up, he saw 3 bandits jump out of one of the towers, but one person stayed in there. Worried, he decided to check it out. He jumped on one of the walls, and dashed off towards the tower. But before he even got there, the tower exploded, flaming pieces of what used to be a wooden floor raining down on the battlefield. Trough his sharingan, Obito saw a man stand in the middle of the rubble. The man had a brown beard and an eyepatch. An headband with a scratched kirigakure logo held the eyepatch in place. But the most noticeable thing about the man was the giant sword which seemed to be decorated with what looked like explosive tags. At least he knew where the explosion came from now.

"Who dares to attack my camp? I, Jinpachi Munashi, will now personally slit your throat, blast you to pieces, and feed you to the wolves!" the sword specialist said as he searched for an opponent. He didn't have to look for long, as Obito had already ran over to him, and prepared to hit him in the face. Jinpashi reacted fast enough, and dodged the blow. He then tried to slam his sword into Obito, who simply used it as a footstand and jumped up. Once in the air, he made a few handseals, ending with the tiger. "Goukakyou no jutsu!" he shouted as his clan's signature fireball shot from his mouth. The swordsman dodged it, and proceeded to make a few handsigns aswell. "Doton: Dosikiryu!" he shouted as a large mud dragon shot up from the ground, coming straight at Obito, who quickly waved trough some handsigns "Katon: Goryuka no jutsu!" A large dragon made of dark flames shot out of Obito's mouth, which instantly burned and hardened the mud dragon. Obito wanted to recover, but had no time to do so as Jinpachi suddenly appeared behind him, his sword ready to slam into Obito, who managed to dodge it just in time.

"I see, the sharingan! You are an Uchiha! I have never killed one of those, so this is the perfect opportunity! Let's see what you are made of!" he taunted as Obito kept his calm. He had to finish this quickly, as nobody was allowed to know it was Konoha who took out the camp. He knew of only one jutsu that could finish this in one go, but was it worth using it?

He had no time to think about it, as Jinpachi suddenly appeared next to him, his sword slashing trough Obito, but a little bit to easily. The sword then hit the ground, and made everything explode around it. "Hah! I shouldn't get my hopes up. Nobody can actually stand a chance against me! This kid was done for before he even had the chance to hit…" he didn't have a chance to finish, as Obito gave him a flaming punch to the face, which send Jinpachi flying. "_But how?! I was sure I hit him! It's like my blade whent straight through him!" _He thought as he hit a wall. He instantly jumped out, though, and prepared to slam Obito another time. Obito dodged, and shot another fireball at his opponent, who easily dodged it, and prepared another attack. Now it was Obito's turn to dodge. "_Damnit, this guy doesn't give. We're just playing a dodging game. I wish his sword would just explode in his fac… Wait a second :D" _he thought as he prepared himself for another jutsu. He flashed through some handsigns, took a deep breath, and shot another fireball at his adversary, who dodged it again. "I'm done playing games with you, so just die already!" Jinpachi said annoyed, but was shocked as a kunai was held on his neck. Obito managed to get behind him, and had Jinpachi cornered. Or so he thought. From the corner of his eye, he could see a blade coming his way, and he couldn't dodge it anymore. The sword hit him, and Obito dispersed in smoke. "Just a shadowclone!" Jinpachi said surprised as Obito appeared next to him, his arms engulfed in raging flames. "Katon: Enjou saramandaa te!" he shouted as he slid his flaming arm over his opponent's blade, which caught on fire. The blade was next to his face, as it still had the momentum from before, and exploded with all its might in his face. Jinpachi flew through the air, the wounds of his burning face growing more and more painful as he thought his last thoughts "So in the end, I didn't even get the chance to fulfill my plans. There were so many things to do, so many people to **kill**, but this kid managed to beat me with those ugly eyes. These eyes, with the same color as the flames that he defeated me with. Those… Those… Those blazing eyes! If I ever come back to life, if only for a short time, I hope I can fight him again. Because then I will KILL HIM! I WILL BLOW THAT UGLY MUG OF HIS FACE IF I EVER SEE HIM AGAIN! DAMN HIM!". After the life in his eyes was finally gone, Obito took a deep breath, and glared over to the other bandits in the camp, who all looked at him with terrified looks in their eyes. Obito stood there, his clothes partially blown of his body, bleeding all over from rocks sent flying by all the explosions, and his sharingan putting them in a trance. They all started to scream, and ran off, to where nobody knows.

Asuma, Guy and Kakashi looked at him dumbfounded. They had taken out the captains and had been busy fighting off the enemy. In the end, nothing really went as planned, but it worked, so they decided not to worry about it. "I think this is the first time that I ever saw you glare like your clanmembers, Obito. You really are an Uchiha, huh?" Asuma said as he gave him an amused smile. "Well, I must say that glaring like that at your opponents is rather unyouthful. But beating one of the seven swordsmen certainly is youthful, so from now on, you will be my second eternal rival! So, let us run back at the village on hands and feet, and see who will make it back first. And if I lose, I will run 100 laps around the village while pulling a cart full of stones behind me!" Guy challenged, but his only answer was Obito letting himself fall on the ground, exhausted. Fighting one of the ninja swordsmen wasn't an easy job, and he even had to use the mangekyou once. They decided to spend the night here before returning back to Konoha, and prepared to go to sleep, much to Guy's disappointment.

**A few months later**

Minato sat at his desk. It was 11 o'clock, and he hadn't slept the past few days. Ever since the meeting of the clans, the Uchiha clan became very rebellious. Since Minato said that the man that summoned the ninetails possessed the sharingan, most of the clan leaders were convinced that it was the Uchiha who were behind the attack, even though Minato explained that the sharingan was sealed away at first, and was awakened in a strange manner. But ofcourse, Danzo had to suggest that it may have been necessary for him to control the kyuubi. Because of the sheer pressure put on Minato by the elders, and his own doubts about the Uchiha, he was forced to banish the Uchiha to the outskirts of the village. Needless to say, they weren't happy with the village, and recently it had been revealed by Shisui Uchiha, that the clan planned a coup d'etat. Danzo immediately wanted to destroy the clan, and those mad village elders of course completely backed him up. But Minato, being the good and rational person he was, opposed the idea, and rather focused on negotiating with the clan. After a while, it was decided that Shisui would use his mangekyou on the clan, to reform them in the next meeting. Minato was nervous. Shisui's plan would start any minute now, and he prayed as Shisui left his house for the naka shrine. But Shisui would never make it to the shrine, as a certain village elder would block his path…

Itachi woke up. It was 6 o' clock in the morning, and his head throbbed like crazy. He still hadn't gotten over what happened yesterday. Shisui… He was really dead, wasn't he? Itachi felt sick. His best friend was now gone. How was the clan going to deal with this? How was he supposed to deal with this? Itachi didn't know. He didn't want to do anything anymore, just lie there and not exist. Despite his longing for a better night sleep, he got up, got dressed, and left for the hokage's office. Without shisui, they had to find a new way of dealing with the upcoming coup d'etat. But how? Hopefully the hokage had an idea…

As he arrived at the office, he saw Danzo and Minato talk to each other in a not so friendly way. Itachi knew why: it was the hokage's plan to send Shisui out, and now he was found dead with one eye missing, and Danzo was scolding him. But Itachi knew better: it was Danzo all along that took Shisui's eye, who then commited suicide, and entrusted his other eye to Itachi. Shisui explained all of this before dropping himself of a cliff, right in front of Itachi's eyes. A part of Itachi screamed for vengeance, but Itachi ignored it. Killing a high ranking Konoha ninja wouldn't solve anything, and would be the perfect trigger for the clan's coup d'etat. But he would have a little talk about stealing allied shinobi's kekkei genkai with him later, of that he was sure…

Kakashi's team arrived at the village around 12 o'clock. They entered Minato's office, an gave him the mission report. Minato dismissed all of them, except for Obito. He had do bring bad news to his pupil.

"What do you need me for, Minato-sensei?" Obito asked

"I have some bad news, Obito, so you better take a seat" Minato said. His serious and slightly dark undertone made Obito understand that something had happened, so he did as told and sat down. "Obito, early this morning, the body of Shisui Uchiha has been found. His hands were bloody, and his eyes were gone. He was found dead in a river, after he threw himself off a cliff" Minato said regretfully. Obito's eyes widened. That was impossible. Shisui? Shisui of the body flicker? The Uchiha prodidgy, always cheerful and happy Shisui dead? By suicide? After destroying his own eyes, nonetheless! It just couldn't be. Shisui was as a little brother to Obito, he told him everything. So something must have happened while he was away. Slowly, reality sunk into Obito, who now looked down in a depressed manner.

Minato was slightly shocked. He had thought Obito wouldn't believe him, or be furious, or at least be mad, but he just sat there, looking down, more silent then he had ever been. His eyes were wide open in shock. Minato walked over to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked in pain as slowly, tears fell down from Obito's eyes, that had now taken the form of his mangekyou sharingan. Obito stood up, turning towards the door. As small thanks left his mouth as he left the office, off towards the Uchiha district. He needed answers, and asking Itachi was the first step towards the truth.

Itachi was thinking about his conversation with Danzo earlier today. Danzo said that wiping out the Uchiha clan was the only option left. He then gave Itachi the choice: If Itachi would destroy the clan, he could let his little brother live. If not, Danzo would send in his ANBU team, and he would not be able to ensure Sasuke's survival. He was snapped out of his thoughts tough, as someone knocked on the door. His father and mother were out, so who could be knocking on the door? As he opened it, his eyes grew widened. The one person he would try to avoid at all costs: Obito stood there, his eyes full of grief. He knew. He knew what happened to Shisui, and he was here for answers. Itachi gestured him in. There was no point in hiding it from him, Obito deserved the truth.

After Itachi gave him the story, except for that he would kill his entire clan tonight, (If you haven't found out yet, what has happened up until now is still canon. Danzo stole one eye, Shisui gave his other to Itachi, then commited suicide. Now, Itachi has to kill the clan in order to save Sasuke), Obito stayed silent for a while. He then nodded, happy to know the truth. He gave Itachi a sad smile "I understand, Shisui did seem like the kind of person that would give his life for the sake of the village… But what about the clan? How is the village going to deal with the upcoming coup d'etat?" Obito asked. "They are still debating what the right course of action is" Itachi said. It was true, nobody knew Danzo ordered him to massacre his entire clan. "Thanks for telling me, Itachi. You could have lied, or ignored me, but you didn't. It really means a lot to me" he said as Obito walked out. He could now mourn Shisui's death in his own way. He looked up in the air. He didn't notice before, but it was a beautiful day. Obito smiled "being all depressive right now would be totally out of character, wouldn't it Shisui?" He asked nobody in particular. "You wouldn't want me giving my life to avenge you, you wouldn't even want me to cry for you. So I promise you, I will live life twice as hard, to make up for your lost time!" he said as he ran off to the village.

**Damnit, this took way too long. I wanted to write the coup in this chapter, but that would take me ANOTHER day to finish, so it will be for next time. I seriously need to stop rushing through this story and learn to take my time… Anyways, I know this wasn't my best chapter, and it took long to write, but I just had a great idea for this chapter, but didn't know how to make it work. I finally got it, and next chapter will be another great turn of events in the story. Prepare yourselves, for a not-so-emo Sasuke in this story, because Obito will save the day! If he can, that is… :D**

**Today, I will give away a shout out to a story I have been reading. It's funny, update frequently, and well written. **

**The story is about Gaara, who was forced by Temari to write a diary (although he prefers the term "Journal" thank you very much!) or he would be send to a therapist. And so, Gaara pens down his daily life. If you are interested, check it out! The title of the story is "Signed: from your not so loyal author" by "The Kazekage of Suna" (=the writer's fanfiction name).**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed reading my certainly not my greatest chapter! Reviews are much appreciated!**


	8. Chapter 8: The massacre

**Guzse: Allright, i regained my calm. If I still have some time left, I will clean up last chapter aswell, but this comes first.**

**Naruto: Finally! Can we get on already? If I don't become a genin soon, I will push a rasengan up your **s!**

**Guzse: …**

**Naruto: … What?**

**Guzse: You don't know that jutsu yet. In fact, you don't know any jutsu yet. -_-'**

**Naruto: DAMNIT! JUST GET ON WITH IT!**

**Guzse: Okay, okay! Whatever!**

Itachi was preparing his ninja gear while thinking of the task ahead. Tonight was the night that everything would change. He would kill his entire clan, leaving his brother as the sole survivor, and then become a missing-nin, hunted down by all the villages. His brother would hate him, probably swear revenge. Itachi cringed at the thought of him ruining his brother's life, but something had to be done. At least now he could protect his little brother.

The hardest part would be his parents: Itachi loved them with his whole heart. He may not always show it, but he thanked everything to them. Without them, he wouldn't be where he is today. He stood up, took a deep breath, and then stepped out of the door, fully dressed in his ninja gear, only this time without his ANBU mask.

As he walked outside, someone came crashing into him.

"AHHH! Sorry about that, I didn't mean to crash into… Itachi? What are you doing outside so late?" Obito asked, holding his hand on the bump that appeared on his forehead **(animation error: bump showed trough headband)**. "Eh, I was called in by another ANBU-member just now, and we are supposed to assemble at the hokage's office. Apparently, we need to go on a special mission." He lied. Obito looked him straight in the eyes. For a moment, he saw a wave of emotions flow through them: fear, anxiety, pain,… What kind of mission would he have? He decided to pay it no mind, as he had his own thing to do. Come to think about it… "Hey, I was summoned by Minato-sensei too! I'll go with you!" he said with his usual cheerfulness. Itachi was amazed: what kind of mindset did he have, if he could still be so happy after one of his best friends died the day before? Itachi admired his emotional strength, as he tried to come up with an excuse to not come with him. "Oh wait, I forgot something inside, I need it for the mission. You go ahead, since you will be late anyways" Itachi lied again. Obito sweatdropped, and then turned around. "Okay, see you there!" he said before dashing off towards the hokage building **(Half my story takes place there XD)**

Itachi rethought his mission. Was it all really necessary? And with things as they are now, Obito would surely escape the massacre if he's summoned by the hokage, and Danzo will use that as an excuse to blow their deal off, and kill him and Sasuke anyways! Itachi shook his head. No, he could deal with Danzo, no problem. And he was glad Obito wouldn't get caught up in this, as he was probably the most innocent Uchiha clan member of them all, barring Sasuke ofcourse. Itachi then dashed off towards the centre of the district, to start his attack. He landed in a little park. It wasn't late in the evening, but it was very dark nonetheless. Itachi took a look around, and noticed a shadow, cast from behind a tree. "Who is there?" he asked. He watched as a man with black spiky hair, a black coat with red clouds, and a white, sharingan-patterned mask stepped from behind the tree. Itachi gave him a distrusting look. "It's you. You are the same man that I saw enter the naka shrine, and read the stone tablet the there a few days ago. Only the Uchiha know of that place, and only a sharingan can read it, so I shadowed you. Since then I have kept a close eye on you and your ideology. I suspected you would be here" Itachi said, as their sharingan made eye contact, and they were both locken in each other's gaze. The man chuckled "That's good, then I have less to explain. As you know then, I bear a grudge against Konoha, and my own clan. I am here to annihilate the Uchiha clan" the man said. Itachi thought about it, and decided he would be a good help in destroying the Uchiha. "I have a proposal: I will help you extract revenge against the Uchiha clan, but I do have my terms. One, you may not hurt the rest of the village, and two, you may not harm Sasuke Uchiha, my little brother" Itachi proposed, hoping he'd take the bite. The man thought over his proposal, and then replied "Okay, I accept, but I do have my own terms: after this is all over, you will join my secret organization, the akatsuki, a band of S-class missing-nin" the masked man replied. Itachi had no choice but accept. He knew he was strong, but taking out his entire clan all by himself would be impossible, even for him. "All right, I accept your proposal. Just make sure that you do not harm Sasuke" Itachi agreed. "Okay, I promise" the masked man said, sealing the deal. Itachi took a deep breath. He walked towards the first house. One last time, he wondered if there was no other way, although he knew there wasn't. The last of his doubts faded away, and he stormed into the house, slit the throat of the man inside, stabbed trough his wife's chest, and then pushed his blade through their daughter's stomach. Screams of agony filled the air, and the sound of other clanmembers running outside could be heard. Things would all go downhill from here…

Obito ran through the streets of Konoha. How the hell did he manage to get lost trying to find his sensei's office? He goes there almost every day! Not to mention the fact that it's the biggest building in town! He wanted to mentally prepare himself for his sensei's mocking remarks, but something else caught his attention. Screaming. It was faint, as he couldn't really hear it that well due to the noise around him, as he was in the centre of the village, but he could hear it. And judging by the direction it came from, it came from the Uchiha district! His worst fear did come true after all. He hoped it didn't have to come to this! Obito turned around, and dashed off towards his clan's living grounds. If it really was the clan, he had to protect Itachi and Sasuke!

Obito arrived 5 minutes later, only to be greeted by the sight of his fellow clanmembers, lying dead in their own blood. Obito's eyes widened. Who would do such a thing? And why? He ran into the district, prepared to find whoever did this. As he ran through the streets, he saw countless of dead bodies lying on the ground. But things were even worse when he noticed that some bodies missed their eyes! Was somebody launching a sharingan hunt? But who would be capable of killing so many people, steal their eyes, and still stay undetected? Obito's only clue as to the whereabouts of the enemy was the trail of dead clansmen. After looking for another 2 minutes, Obito finally found the people behind this massacre: there, Itachi stood in front of a man with lond, black hair. The man's eyes were glowing red with a sharingan pattern in them. His face was covered by a mask, but Obito knew exactly who he was. The man gave him the same feeling as that guy from all these years ago. Obito remembered the way he looked at him when he just saved Rin, and his gaze was the same today, only this time he had the sharingan. "It's you!" Obito shouted, and the masked man and Itachi turned his way. "How could I have missed you? You were part of the group that foiled my first attempt years ago! Perfect, I had hoped I could kill you one day!" the man said as he leapt at Obito. But Obito wasn't a kid anymore. Unfazed, he dodged it, and punched the man's side, making him fly into a wall. The man stood up, grabbed a kunai, and once more leapt at Obito. Obito took a kunai as well, blocking the man's attack. "Katon: gokakyu no jutsu!" he said as a massive fireball, way bigger than average, fired from his mouth. The man jumped aside, but his right arm got caught in the blast. He ripped off his burning sleeve, revealing his burned arm. It was decorated with many tattoos, and Obito noticed that they were seals of some kind. He didn't have time to think about it, though, as the man launched another attack at him. Obito blocked, and the two began an heated battle. "You became pretty good, Obito Uchiha! I never thought you would have this much potential!" the man said. Obito replied by shooting a volley of little fireballs from his mouth. "Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!"

Itachi just watched the two. He was at a crossroads. He knew Obito didn't deserve to die. He was the nicest clanmember of all of them. But orders were orders. "Itachi, you doubt too much. Just leave and finish the job, I will take care of this idiot!" the masked man said. Itachi knew it was the best option, as he was unsure if he was even stronger then Obito in the first place. He turned around, and ran at the last family that had to be dealt with: his family.

Obito dodged another batch of kunai flying his way, and launched an array of shuriken his opponents way. The made a tiger seal, and spewed a few small streak of fire, setting the shuriken on fire. The masked man blocked them with his kunai, and went through a few seals. "Doton: Doryu taiga!" he said, and the ground underneath Obito turned into a river of mud, pushing him away and against a wall. His opponent didn't give him much time to react, and swung at him with a kunai. The kunai pricked his head, but was then sucked into nothingness, as if it disappeared into a whirlpool. The man was surprised for a second, and in that second he felt an enormous pain boring into his stomach, as if it was being ripped apart. He watched as a blue light shone from Obito's hand in the form of a blue ball. "Rasengan!" Obito shouted as he pushed the masked man away from him, and send him crashing through a wall of solid concrete, into the house of a happy family that died by his hands. He stood up, but felt that his ribs were broken. He felt as if his body would fall apart, and needless to say, things weren't going as planned.

Itachi arrived at his home. His parents sat in their living room, as if they had been expecting him all this time. "So you chose your path eh, Itachi" Fugaku said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "Mother… Father… I'm sorry" he said regretfully. "Don't be, Itachi. This is the path you decided to take. As your parents, we stand behind your decision, even though our ideals do not match. Unlike you, our pain will only last a moment" His mother added. "Just one thing, Itachi…" his father said. "Take care of Sasuke, okay?" "I will" Itachi answered. Tears streamed down his face, as he uttered his last words to his parents: "_gomennasai (I'm sorry)_". His sword slashed through their backs, cutting through their spine, the least painful way to die by a sword Itachi knew of. **(Don't quote me on that)  
**  
All the pain Itachi felt that day finally got the better of him, as he collapsed, crying over his parents corpses. His face was hidden by his long hair. He heard the door of the room open, and a raven haired boy stormed in the room. "What happened here?!" The boy uttered in shock. Itachi prepared himself for the next moment. He had prepared himself, but it didn't make it any easier. He wanted to stand up, but a hand was placed on his shoulder. The same hand that always made him feel better when he was down, that always calmed his mind. "Don't worry Itachi, it's done. The man who killed them is gone" the voice said to Itachi, who's eyes slightly widened in shock, but also relief…

Obito tried to stand up, but found it hard to do so because of the chakra-enhanced mud. Suddenly, a hand reached out for him, and Obito looked up to see Minato stand there, his face almost as sad as when Kushina died. _Almost. _He took his sensei's hand, and Minato pulled him out of the mud. "Minato sensei, you came!" Obito said, happy to see a recognizable face again. "Word of the turmoil in the Uchiha clan reached me. I feared the worst, and came to check immediately" Minato answered. "I had a feeling this might happen , but payed it no mind. But things really turned out for the worst. Just to be sure, I tried to lure you away from the clan tonight, to make sure you wouldn't be caught up in this, but I forgot one important thing" Minato said, and he gave Obito a sad smile. "I forgot that your'e always late". He turned towards the collapsed wall, a sad Obito doing the same. The man crawled back on his feet, eyeing his newly arrived opponent. He might have been able to take care of the boy, but he couldn't handle the Hokage in this state. Minato threw a flash kunai at him, but the man deflected it. Minato, however, jumped at it, and reached out to grab the man, but was unable to do so because in only a fraction of a second later, a wooden cage surrounded the man. He didn't see the man do any jutsu, and wondered who could have done it. His question was answered when a weird plant rose from the ground. The plant, which resembled a venus flytrap, opened up, and a man with a body that was half black and half white was inside of it. He helped the man get up. By letting him lean on his shoulder. At that moment, other shinobi joined the scene, as the whole village had been alarmed by the ANBU blackops. "Now we got you, you have nowhere to run" Minato said as he formed a rasengan and smashed the cage to splinters.

"Zetsu, now!" the man said as Zetsu grabbed him and dragged him into the wall. This time, however, Minato managed to grab his leg, and started to pull the man out of Zetsu's grasp, neither budging an inch. What Minato didn't expect, was that the man took a kunai, and slashed through his leg, cutting it off his body. Minato flew back a little, and noticed that the leg had no bone, and was bleeding a white substance. Suddenly, wooden restraints bound him to the wall, and watched as Zetsu pulled the man in the ground. Before he disappeared, the man said "This will be the last time we meet in a long time, Hokage-sama. Next time, I will be back to my full power, and things won't be the same. The so called "peace" you all live in will be gone, and I will crush Konoha into dust!" He then disappeared, and would not be seen for years after.

Minato tried to break free from his restraints, but was unable to do so. Asuma broke him free by breaking the restraints with his wind-powered knife. "Thank you, Asuma" he said. "Everybody, we are in a state of emergency. All shinobi must help me look for survivors immediately! Spread out in the district and search all homes!" he said, and then turned towards a group of chunin. "You there, take some hazard tape and block this area off from civilians. I don't want anybody else in here, understood?" The chunin nodded, and jumped off. Minato then realized something. "Where is Obito?"

After the other shinobi appeared, Obito ran towards Itachi and Sasuke's home as fast as he could. He had to make it in time, he just had to! He could feel all of his emotions trying to get the better of him, but Obito had been in tough situations before. He pushed them back and arrived at their back door. He opened it, and ran inside. As he opened the door, he saw Sasuke open the door as well, who's eyes widened in shock and sorrow. Before him, Itachi hung, crying over his parent's dead bodies. He would have to take care of business later, this came first. Despite all of his confusion, Obito ran over to Itachi, and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Itachi, it's done. The man who killed them is gone" he said, as he helped Itachi stand up, and they walked to Sasuke. Obito the two of them in a hug. Itachi was speechless with sorrow, and Sasuke was in shock, but both of them felt… safe. Like Obito always made them feel. He offered to help them carry their burden, no matter how big or small, and made life that much easier to bare.

The following day was hard for Itachi. He and Sasuke had spend the night at the Hokage's house. He felt like there would be a lot of explaining to do, and he knew Danzo wouldn't leave things the way they were. Instead of one Uchiha, there were still three in the village, and he knew things would get messy. Well, at least they couldn't get any worse.

He was woken up that morning by Obito, who passed him a cup of tea. People would think that you couldn't sleep after such a traumatizing night, but Itachi and Sasuke slept as a brick, although nightmares did haunt their dreams. Itachi felt guilty, and knew that the feeling would never go away. He could only try and keep his promise to his parents, and protect his brother no matter what. He looked at the boy next to him. Sasuke had asked him to stay close to him, so Itachi did. He turned his gaze to Obito, who gestured him to come with him. They closed the door behind them, and Obito started explaining. "I know that you killed the clan yesterday" he said with a sad tone. Itachi's eyes widened "How? How did you find out?" Itachi asked worried.

"I started to get suspicious when you talked to me after I bumped into you on the street. You were stuttering, acted nervous, and made up the worst lie in history. You never forget your stuff, it's always packed the day before you leave for your missions, and you always triple check if you have everything, so you forgetting something important was out of the question. I started to realize what really was going on when you didn't help me fight the masked man. Remembering our talk of two days ago about Shisui and the coup d'etat, I put two and two together and finished my battle as fast as I could to prevent you from suffering unnecessary consequences" Obito answered.

Itachi looked at him. He could now see why he wasn't that sad anymore about Shisui: Obito was thankful to Shisui for being who he was. We should honor the dead and treasure their memories instead of letting them take us down, especially when they died as heroes, like Shisui.

As he walked downstairs, he saw Minato talk to Naruto

"…staying here for a while, until things have settled down and we found a new place for them. So be nice to them, okay Naruto?" Minato explained to his son, who nodded in agreement. Minato then stood up, and greeted Itachi "Good morning, Itachi. How are you?" "Wrecked, as you can tell, but alive, so that accounts for something" Itachi answered. "I know this is a hard time for you, but you need to come by my office today around 2 o'clock. We want to start the investigation in the matter as soon as possible" Minato said, but his gaze told Itachi that he knew what was going on, and he gave him a reassuring smile. Their hokage was no idiot, and knew what was happening in the village. He walked past Itachi, who could barely hear him say "Don't worry, you will not become a missing-nin, so that's one burden off your shoulders. Just take your time until everything settled down".

Things would be difficult, but they would work out. Itachi's future looked brighter then he first imagined, and he started to come back to his senses. If Obito could do it, Itachi could as well. In the end, he was an Uchiha prodigy, was he not?

**AND. THAT'S. IT! Chapter 9 is done! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, it was a lot of fun compared to the last one! I personally think it's one of the best one's yet, but my opinion doesn't matter. Yours do! After all, I write to entertain YOU! So, please review this chapter, tell me what could have gone better, all that stuff! I enjoy critique, but please no flames. Now, I'm gonna go to bed, it's almost twelve o'clock here. I hope I see y'all next chapter, when Naruto and Sasuke will finally graduate! The story can finally start to develop some more!**

**PS: I just want to tell you all that in about 6 days, I will leave on a 10 day trip with my youth organization. I do this every year, and it's always a LOT of fun, but I will not be able to update this story for ten days. So I just wanted to let you all know beforehand. I will try to upload the day before I leave and write one chapter in advance, so I can upload the day I come back.**

**Well, cya!**


	9. Chapter 9: Number one knuckelhead ninja!

**Alright, last chapter before i leave. I MAY write a bonus chapter tomorrow, but only if I feel like it, so don't get your hopes up. I leave for 10 on Thursday, so no chapters during these days. I will start writing the next chapter as soon as I come back, I promise!**

Naruto Uzumaki was many things. For one, he was hyperactive. He couldn't sit still for five minutes without falling off his chair. Second of all, he was short-tempered, so you better not insult him, or he will fight you. And last but not least… He was always cheerful, wearing a huge grin on his face whenever he could. He was thought to make the best out of any situation, and he would never give up on something, no matter how hard it was.

That being said, the moment Iruka-sensei announced that their graduating test was the clone jutsu, he gulped. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get that jutsu to work. His father, the fourth Hokage, had helped him many times, but he just couldn't get the jutsu to work. Needless to say, he was nervous.

"Allright kids, don't forget to study your clone jutsu for tomorrow. Not all of you will pass, but I have faith in you. You all have the potential, but you still need to work to unlock it. See you all tomorrow!" Iruka said, as he closed his book about basic ninjutsu. In a matter of seconds, a small army of children ran out the door. Only a few took their time when walking out the classroom: the first one was Shikimaru Nara, a lazy boy. Iruka wondered why he even became a ninja. The second one was Sasuke Uchiha, one of the few survivors of the Uchiha clan, and one of his most promising students. And the last one, to his big surprise, was Naruto. "Hey Naruto, what are you still doing here? I thought you would be the first one to leave!" Iruka said half smiling.

"Ehh, well, it's just that I, ehh… Can I PLEASE try another jutsu during the test? The clone jutsu is the one that failed me before, I just can't get it to work! All my other jutsu work just fine!" Naruto asked, his pleading eyes trying to bore their way into Iruka's head.

"Naruto, it's not only about the clone jutsu, and you know it. As a ninja, we must adapt to many different situations. For this, we learn many different kinds of ninjutsu, so we can quickly respond to the problem at hand. If you can't even learn the basics, how could you ever think about becoming a great ninja? Learning the three basic jutsu is the foundation on which you build your shinobi carreer. That foundation is the most important thing of all, because without it your entire structure would crumble and fall down. I'm not going to give you special treatment because you are the hokage's son, and you know it!" Iruka responded. He was tired of having to explain this to Naruto every time again.

"Yeah yeah, you told me all this before, remember? I don't see what the great deal is! I will become a great ninja, even if I can't perform that stupid clone jutsu! Believe it!" Naruto shouted as he ran out of the classroom. Sasuke just watched him ran off. "What a loser, he will never graduate this way" he thought as he left himself. He then remembered that his brother told him that he would help him prepare for his graduation exam. A grin appeared on his face as he ran out the classroom. Shikamaru lazily left as well. "Man, this exam is going to be such a drag" he said. Iruka sweatdropped. He had to admit: in some students, he had more faith then in others…

Naruto slammed open his front door. His father, being the lightning fast ninja he was, appeared right in front of him, making Naruto bump into him. "Naruto, how many times do I have to tell you not to slam with the doors? Honestly, you have too much energy for your own good" he said as he picked his son up. Naruto looked at him. "Dad, can you please help me with the clone jutsu again? Tomorrow is the graduation exam, and it's that jutsu again, and I really don't want to fail again!"

Minato looked at his sons sad expression. He wanted to help him, but he was too busy assembling all the teams for the graduating students, so he just didn't have the time. "I'm sorry Naruto, but I'm too busy. You know that being Hokage is hard work, and we can't let the village down. You understand, don't you?" Minato said with a sorry expression.

Naruto sighed. He knew his dad was a busy man, but he really didn't spend a lot of time with Naruto. He knew he couldn't blame him, but it made him a little sad nonetheless. "I understand. I'll train by myself again outside, I guess." He said as he walked outside. Minato watched him open the back door, and close it behind him. He sighed. He knew Naruto's problem: he just had so much chakra for somebody his age that controlling it was difficult. If only the clone jutsu was less difficult and more chakra-heavy…

Then it came to him: of course! Naruto should be able to learn the kage-bunshin no jutsu! (shadow clone jutsu) That technique did just that! For normal clones, you need to copy your chakra signature, which takes quite some chakra control, and then place it where you want the bunshin to be. For the shadow clone jutsu, you just pump chakra into a humanoid form, which will then create the clone for you. It would take too much chakra for a normal academy student, but Naruto should be able to pull it off! Yes, that would work. Minato made a few handseals and summoned a toad about the size of a table.

"Yo, Minato, you summoning me is pretty rare. This house has the smell of a missing scroll in the air!

Minato sweatdropped. "Pad, I know your trying to find a hobby, but do you really think rapping is your thing?" He asked, still chuckling about the scene that just happened before him.

"Allright, allright, I get it. But I will not give up that easily you know! Now what do you need me for?" Pad asked while crossing his arms. Minato chuckled. Apparently, he stepped on the vault toad's toes.

"I need you to go get me the shadow clone jutsu scroll. I have someone to teach it to" Minato said. The toad did as asked, and opened his mouth. His tongue rolled out, revealing a small, white scroll with blue borders. Minato checked the scroll, and put it in his pocket. "Thanks pad, I appreciate it. You can go now". With a poof, the toad disappeared in a cloud of white smoke. Minato walked over to the window. He sweatdropped as he noticed his garden was filled with what looked like bad ragdoll versions of Naruto. "Naruto! Come inside, I have something for you!" He shouted over to his son. Naruto ran inside. After Minato explained his plan, he found himself suffocating in his son's embrace. Naruto took the scroll and ran outside, and stayed there for the rest of the evening…

"Allright, Sakura Haruno, your'e up next" Iruka announced. Sakura walked down in front of the teacher's desk. She put her hands in a cross sign, and closed her eyes to focus. "Bunshin no jutsu!" she said two clouds of white smoke appeared next to her. The smoke cleared, and two perfect Sakura copies became visible. "Good job, Sakura. Next up: Sasuke Uchiha!" Iruka said, and Sasuke stood up, walking down the stairs. As he and Sakura crossed on their way, he completely ignored her tantrum of wishing him good luck. Hah, as if he needed luck for something like this! He stood before his teachers, put his hands in a cross and preformed the jutsu. Moments later, eight perfect Sasuke copies appeared around him, all in different stances. Shortly after that, he dispelled the jutsu.

"Well done Sasuke! That was the best performance until now! Alright, you can go back to your seat. Next up: Naruto Uzumaki!". Suddenly, the whole classroom started laughing. Kiba pointed at Naruto. "Sensei, why even bother? You know that he won't be able to perform that jutsu even if his life was on the line!" he said as Naruto shot him a mad glare. "Ohh yeah doggy boy? We'll see about that? Why don't you come over here and say that again, huh?" He screamed at the Inuzuka. "My pleasure!"

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP! Naruto, get down here!" Iruka shouted, giving his class a mad look. Everybody stayed silent, and watched Naruto walk down in amusement. He stood still, held his fingers crossed in front of him, and closed his eyes. For a few seconds, he did nothing, but then he said "kage-bunshin no jutsu!" Mere moments later, the whole class was filled with Naruto clones. One sat on top of Kiba's head, holding Akamaru in front of him while playing with his paws. The whole class gasped in shock, and Naruto dispelled the jutsu, letting Akamaru fall on top of Kiba's face. Iruka was at a loss for words. "G-good job Naruto, best of all today. Ehh, okay class, that was it. I will see you all tomorrow for the graduation ceremony. Don't forget that in the afternoon, you will be assigned to you respective squads, and will be introduced to your new squad leaders. I congratulate you all, and hope you will all grow up to be excellent shinobi!" he said, and the students left the classroom again, with Naruto up front. Before Naruto could leave, however, he was called back in by Iruka. "Naruto, I would like to have a word with you before you leave". Naruto, who just wanted to leave and tell his father the good news, pouted. "What is it Iruka sensei?" he asked.

"Naruto, despite you performing the best of all the students today, the rules say that you had to use the clone jutsu, not the shadow clone jutsu. So I'm not actually supposed to pass you… But!" Iruka said before Naruto had a chance to react. "I would be stupid to not recognize that you worked hard, and all these years I should have seen you potential earlier. Wear your headband with pride, Naruto. You really do deserve it!" Iruka finished, making Naruto's grin even bigger. "Thanks Iruka sensei!" he said as he gave him his brightest smile, and ran off. Iruka watched him leave, and took a trip back to memory lane, remembering his own time in the academy.

Naruto ran down the hall, eager to tell his father the good news. He turned around the corner, and ran straight into Rin, who was on her way to Iruka with her list of graduating students. Startled, she accidently threw all of the papers into the air. "Ahh! I'm sorry Rin nee-san! I'll pick them up!" Naruto said as he dropped on his knees and started picking up the papers. Rin sat down next to him and helped. "So, Naruto, how did the exam go?" she asked curiously. Naruto grinned again, which was all the answer Rin needed. She smiled as the boy exploded into happiness. "I finally passed! I couldn't perform the clone jutsu, so my dad thought me this awesome shadown clone jutsu, and I could do that one, so I did and I made like fifty clones, and everybody just went like WHAT! And…" he stopped as Rin pulled him into a one-arm embrace, ruffling his hair with her free hand. "Congratulations, Naruto! I will pick these papers up, you just go and tell your father the good news!" she said, and Naruto stood up. "Okay, see you later!" he said and ran down the hallway.

Naruto ran outside the academy gate, but got swooped up by the collar. "Hey kid, long time no see, huh?" the man asked. Naruto's eyes widened. His godfather, Jiraiya, stood there. It had been months since Naruto last saw him. "perv oji-san!" he said. This day couldn't get any better!

Jiraiya accompanied Naruto to his father's office. "So perv oji-san, why are you back in Konoha?" Naruto asked curiously. "You know kid, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't call me perv oji-san anymore. The name doesn't really sit well with the lady's if you know what I mean" he said as he nudged Naruto. "Don't forget that you are with the mighty sage of mount myoboku, Jiraiya the toad sage!" he said as he posed on his big toad. Naruto didn't even see Jiraiya summon him, where did he come from? "Oh okay, I get it" Naruto said. Jiraiya gave a cocky smirk. "So, why are you back in Konoha, pervy sage?" Naruto repeated. Jiraiya sighed "I bring report to your father at least every six months about Orochimaru's whereabouts and about other secrets I unfolded. So I just happened to be here on your graduation day! So congratulations Naruto! Make sure to become a great ninja like your dad, okay?" Jiraiya asked. They didn't see each other a lot, but the two of them always got along just fine. Naruto reminded Jiraiya of himself when he was young. Given, the boy wasn't as perverted, but they could work on that when he was a little older. Maybe he would take him on a trip to teach him the ways of the world one day, who knows.

They arrived at the hokage's office. Two ANBU wanted to ask what they were doing there, but retreated when they saw it was Jiraiya and Naruto. As they neared the office door, Naruto got exited an ran inside. "Oh hey Naruto, how was your day?" He immediately asked. It didn't matter how much paperwork he had, Naruto was always allowed to come in and brighten his day.

"It was great! I did the shadow clone jutsu, and I did even better the Sasuke! And everybody was completely stunned by it!" Naruto cheered. Minato hadn't seen his son this happy in a long time. He stood up and pulled Naruto in an embrace, who was now heavily blushing. "Well Naruto, this will be the last time I can hug you like this, won't it? From tomorrow on, you will be a real ninja, and you will grow to become a real man" Minato whispered to his son. "Make your mother proud, Naruto" Minato said as he released his embarrassed son from his grip. "Allright, to celebrate, let's go to Ichiraku, what do you think?" Naruto didn't have time to respond, as Jiraiya decided to make his entranced. "Well, may I join you two at your party then?"

**Allright, I will end it here. I think I might just write the next chapter tomorrow, instead of some filler I was planning, but no promises!**

**Okay, so I want Naruto to have his signature moves: the rasengan, and the shadow clones. Rasengan wouldn't be as hard, but he learned shadow clones only because of his isolation, which ofcourse, isn't implemented in this fic. So I had to find a way for him to learn it, and I think I did a pretty good job. **

**The scroll minato gave Naruto was one with only the explanation of the shadow clones (don't want Naruto to know the reaper death seal, now do we?). I know it seems weird for him to have this lying with a "vault toad" (my own invention :P), but Minato had AT LEAST two safe houses on the outskirts of the village (go to his narutopedia page if you don't believe me), so cut me some slack when I say that he stores important jutsu away.**

**So I will try to make up for the short chapter by uploading tomorrow. After that, I will leave for 10 days without internet (too bad to, I was just about to get into the story again. I lost it for a while there), so pls dun kil meh. So I guess I will see you guys tomorrow?**

**Thanks for subsc… REVIEWING! Damnit, this is NOT youtube!**


	10. Chapter 10: Team 7 revised!

**Hey guys! Like i said, i will try and get this chapter up before i leave! So without further ado, let's do this!**

Inner Sakura: _**"Chaah! Sasuke-kun will be mine!"**_

"Allright class, take your seats" Iruka said, eyeing the group of fresh genin.

"Good, now Rin-sensei here will tell you which squad your'e on. Rin, I leave them to you" Iruka finished, and then left the room.

"Allright, I am going to give teams seven to ten" Rin announced. "For team 7: Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha,…" Rin started, but was interrupted by a loud screaming Sakura. "YES! Victory!" _**"Chaah! Take that Ino-pig! Now that I'm on the same team as Sasuke-kun, there's no way I'm gonna lose to you!"**_

The whole class then sweatdropped.

"… And Naruto Uzumaki. You will meet your squad leader in classroom B5" Rin finished, and watched as Sakura's mood switched to depression. She wanted to continue, but was interrupted by Naruto. "Hey Rin-sensei? Why does a great ninja like me have to be on the same squad as that stuck up idiot Sasuke?" He complained. She sighed, Naruto and Sasuke never really got along. "Naruto, Sasuke had the best grades out of everybody in your class. You had the worst scores. To make up, we put the best student, with the worst student" she explained. She knew he wouldn't like his answer, but there was nothing she or he could do about it.

"As I was saying, team 8: Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga and Shino Aburame. You meet your sensei in classroom A3" she announced.

Kiba looked at Shino. In all his years in the academy, they never really talked. Kiba never even saw him without his enormous coat! He then turned his head to Hinata, who was heavily blushing and tried to tuck her head in her jacket. He sighed, out off all the people he had to have the two socially awkward ones.

"…and for team 10: Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka. You will meet your leader in classroom B2" Rin finished.

Ino spoke up "What? Off all the people I have the lazy ass and the fatzo on my team? Why me? Can I please switch teams?" she complained. Shoji's eyes darkened. "What did you just call me missy?" he asked daringly. "I called you a fatzo!" she repeated. Shoji's switch flipped. "NOBODY CALLS ME FAAAAAAAT! HUMAN BOULDER!" He tucked his head in, but was suddenly unable to move. "Quit it Choji, she's not worth it. Ino, remember to NEVER call Choji fat, that's off-limits.

Ino crossed her arms "Alright, alright, I'm sorry!" Shikamaru sighed _"Having a girl like her on my team is such a drag!" he thought._

Sasuke and Sakura were waiting in classroom B5, when the door was smacked open, and Naruto ran in, panting. "Am… I… Still… On… Time…?" he said exhausted. "Well, our sensei isn't here yet so guess you are" Sakura answered. Sasuke just sat still on a bench and completely ignored Naruto's existence. Seconds became minutes, minutes became 2 hours, and team 7 was bored out of their minds. Naruto found a board wiper, and decided to pull a prank on their new sensei. He took a chair, and put the board wiper on top of the door.

"Naruto! That is such a childish prank your'e pulling!" Sakura commented. **"Aww, who am I kidding? It's what the bastard deserves for being late!"**

"Our sensei is a jonin. He's not going to fall for a stupid prank like that

About 15 minutes later, somebody knocked on the door. Team 7 quickly turned their gazes to the person. The door opened and…

Poof!

Once raven black hair had now a white gradient to it, and team 7 stared in amazement. "HE FELL FOR IT!" Sakura and Naruto gasped, but Sasuke was surprised for a different reason.

"Alright little brats. I don't know who did this, but I will get you back for it, you can count on it. If you don't mind, I will meet you on the roof. I never really liked the gloomy feeling of a classroom" their new sensei said, and then body flickered away.

Naruto was lost in thoughts when he walked over to the roof. He knew their sensei, he was a friend of his father. But he couldn't quite remember his name.

As they all met on the roof, their new sensei spoke up. "So, let's introduce ourselves. To start, tell me something about yourselves".

"What do you want us to tell you?" Naruto asked.

"Hmm… Your name, things you like, things you hate, your dreams for the future, these kind of things".

"Why don't you start to show us how it's done, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Okay then. My name is Obito Uchiha. I like to do fun things with my friends, training and eating Dango. I dislike people who would leave their comrades behind, and people who are blinded by their own sense of justice. My dream for the future is to become hokage, so that one day I may restore the honor of the Uchiha clan, and protect the village with all I have!" Obito said, smirking. Sasuke sighed; of all the people, Obito HAD to be his sensei. This was awkward as hell.

Naruto's mind cleared up. _"Oh yeah, Obito Uchiha! He was one of my father's pupils when he was a squad leader! I never thought he would be our team leader!" _He thought.

"Allright Sasuke, why don't you go next?" Obito asked, smiling knowingly at Sasuke. Sasuke just glared back at him.

"My name, is Sasuke Uchiha. I like tomatoes and training, and I dislike people who are too clingy. My dream is to restore the Uchiha clan to it's former greatness, and make sure a tragedy like what happened with the Uchiha clan never happens again" he answered.

"Good. Now, your turn pinky!" Obito said to Sakura, who gave him an angry glare.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. Things I like… Who I like is…(gives Sasuke an exited looko) My dream for the future is… (gives Sasuke another exited look) HIIII" Sakura uttered while blushing heavily. Obito sweatdropped. "And what do you dislike?" He asked curiously.

"NARUTO!" she exclaimed, making Naruto fall over.

"Alright Goofy, your'e up next!" Obito said before Naruto could make a fuss.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like Ichiraku Ramen and training with my dad. I don't like it when my dad makes me eat vegetables. And my dream is… To be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village has to see me for who I am and stop disrespecting me, like I'm somebody important!" Naruto said proudly, his grin reaching from ear to ear.

"_Sensei's looks, but Kushina's personality…" _Obito thought. "Okay, now that we all know each other a little, I will give you tomorrow's exercise. It's nothing fancy, just a regular survival exercise, you should be able to handle it. But there is a catch, which you will see tomorrow. Oh, and before I forget: you better not eat breakfast, or you WILL puke. See ya!" Obito said, and then dashed off towards god knows where. _"Probably the wrong direction"_ Sasuke thought.

When Naruto came home, his father was busy preparing diner in a pink apron. "Oh, hey Naruto! So, how was your first day on a genin team?" Minato asked with his usual cheerfulness. "Well, we all told each other who we were, and then our new sensei, Obito Uchiha, told us we would have a survival exercise. I don't get it, we already passed our graduation exam, why the need of a stupid exercise? I'm a real ninja now!" Naruto said, making Minato look at him with a serious face.

"This survival exercise will be from a whole new caliber then your previous ones. Don't forget what I thought you all this time, okay Naruto?" Minato warned him. He knew what test Obito would give Naruto, and it wouldn't be an easy one. But he had trained Naruto to be a real ninja, and he knew his son could do it. That was his job as a parent after all, to have faith in his kid.

The following day, Naruto arrived at training ground 9 at the same time as Sakura. "Oh hey Sakura? Are the others here yet?" Naruto asked. "Well I don't see them, so I guess not" she answered. The next hour was just Naruto trying to make small talk, and Sakura wishing Sasuke would show up. Finally, Sasuke arrived as well.

"What took you so long, teme? Your'e an hour late!" Naruto said.

"So what? I know our sensei, he won't be showing up for at least another half hour" Sasuke said, and then again completely ignored his two teammates.

And as predicted by Sasuke, half an hour later, Obito showed up. "Your late!" Sakura and Naruto disapproved of him. "Well, I saw this old lady going into the grocery store and decided to help her out…" Obito lied.

"So that's why I heard snoring coming from your house when I walked by" Sasuke said. Obito comically fell over.

"In any case, you must all be wide awake by now, so let me explain the exercise: in my hand, I have two bells. Each of you has to try and get one. If you can't take one from me, you will be tied to that pole over there, and you will get to starve while watching the rest eat. Oh yeah, one extra penalty: if you fail to get a bell… You will be send back to the academy instantly!" Obito explained.

"But there are only two bells!" Sakura remarked. "So there will always be one person without a bell!"

"Well spotted Sakura. Indeed, one of you will be send back to the academy regardless of what happens. So, everything clear? When I say start. One, two, three… START!"

The three genin dashed off and hid themselves in the tree's and bushes.

"A ninja must be invisible. Well at least they get that much…" Obito looked at the bushes Sakura was hiding in, and sighed. "It's just that they aren't very good at it".

Naruto was hiding in the trees. _"Ninja rule number one: a ninja must be invisible"_ he thought.

Sasuke was hidden behind a rock, large enough to completely hide him from sight. _"Ninja rule number two: a ninja attacks from the shadows, and usually avoids hand-to-hand combat"_ he thought while grabbing a few shuriken, and throwing them at Obito.

Obito, who saw the attack coming from a mile away, easily caught the shuriken with his finger. "You will have to do better than that!" he said, and gave the rock Sasuke hid behind a look.

"_Ninja rule number three!"_ Naruto thought, grabbing a kunai and leaping at Obito, who turned around quickly.

"_Teamwork is the key to battle!"_ Sasuke thought as he leapt at Obito from behind as well.

A fraction off a second later, two kunai flew straight up in the air, and Naruto and Sasuke were knocked away, sliding in the dirt. "So fast!" Naruto commented. Sasuke winced. He knew that Obito was a strong ninja. He always watched in fascination when he and his brother sparred.

"Shinobi battle style number one: taijutsu" Obito commented. "Both of you like to use it, but aren't really that good at it.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!_ Kagebunshin no jutsu!_" Naruto said, and mere moments later, the entire field was filled with Naruto clones. All at the same time, they leapt at Obito.

One by one, Obito defeated the shadow clones, while dodging Sasuke's kunai and shuriken barrage. After five minutes, the two boys lied on the ground, panting. Obito stood there, eying the two.

Sakura saw her chance, and preformed the clone jutsu to throw her sensei off guard. Obito, however, didn't even turn around, and just smacked Sakura on the head. "You make too much noise when you run. You have to practice your ghost step more" he said without looking at her. In the meantime, Naruto recovered and readied a new batch of shadow clones for attack. Obito sighed, and prepared to face the small army, but suddenly got caught from behind. A Naruto clone had snuck up behind him and transformed into a small rock, and then grabbed Obito, restricting his movements.

"Now I got you!" Naruto said, but before he could punch Obito, he turned into one of Naruto's clones.

"Ehh? I get it! You turned into me to try and get me confused!" Naruto said. What followed was an all-out clone wars **(:3)**, until Naruto finally decided dispelling the jutsu was the best idea, only to find nobody else there.

"Idiot! He used the substitution jutsu to try and fool you. And of course in your case: it worked!" Sasuke said.

In a fraction of a second later, Obito stood behind Naruto, his hand in the tiger seal. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. "He wouldn't, lord Hokage would never forgive him!" Sasuke thought.

"Naruto! He's going to roast you with a fireball! Get out of there!" Sasuke warned.

"Too late! Now tremble before my own original technique! Leaf village secret finger jutsu!" Obito said, while sticking his hand up Naruto's bottom, and he then shot him up in the air, making Naruto fly away. "A thousand years of death!" he finished.

Obito smirked with pride, and Sakura and Sasuke sweatdropped.

Sasuke saw an opening, and took his chance. He threw is kunai as hard as he could, but before they even reached him, they were gone. Obito smirked, and leapt at Sasuke, but Sakura jumped in front of him. He used his sharingan, and in the blink of an eye, Sakura fell over, falling under his genjutsu. He then knocked Sasuke out.

Naruto, who recovered from his embarrassing experience, took a stance behind Obito. He held his right arm with his left hand, and started to build up chakra. Small string of chakra started to spiral in his hand. Obito smiled at Naruto "So you are even learning that jutsu huh?" Obito said amused.

"This will get you!" Naruto said confident, and ran towards Obito. "Impressive Naruto…"

Naruto was now really close to him. "But not quite like the real deal!" he said as he formed a small rasengan. The two attacks collided, and Naruto was completely overwhelmed. He flew backwards and hit a tree, also knocking Naruto out.

When team 7 woke up, they noticed they were all tied to a pole. Naruto in the middle, and Sasuke and Sakura on the side. Obito stood in front of them, eating dango. He smiled maliciously as their three stomachs rumbled in perfect synch.

"Well, like I said, you won't get any lunch, since none of you managed to get a bell before lunch" Obito said. They all winced as they noted than none of them had passed the test.

"Naruto, you fight to straight forward, and forget to fight tactically in the heat of battle. Try to keep your calm more. Sakura, you doubt yourself too much and just go along with the others, which makes you predictable. Try to be more assertive. And Sasuke: try to have some faith in your teammates. Even if you left the academy with the highest grades, that doesn't mean you will grow up to be the best ninja. Ninja are made on the battlefield, not in a classroom" Obito told them, making them bow their heads in defeat. "But all in all, you showed really good teamwork for a fresh genin team, better then my team when we started. And that was the main point of this exercise: to teach you the importance of teamwork. I'm glad I can call the three of you my pupils!" Obito said, which gave their faces a surprised look.

"Does that mean we pass?" Naruto asked surprised.

"Yes, yes it does! So I will see you all tomorrow, when we leave for our first mission, if that's okay?" he asked, and he got an exited cheer in return from both Naruto and Sakura (Sasuke just smirked and said "Hmmph!").

"So what mission will we go on? A guarding mission? A retrieval mission? Tell us!" Naruto asked exited.

"We'll go pull weeds from an old lady's garden. A simple D-rank, that's all" Obito replied smirking.

"WHAAAAT!?" Naruto complained. Obito smirked. He started to like this team!

**Alright guys, that was it. The last chapter I write before leaving. I'm happy with it, it really sets the mood for the rest of the story. Notable changes:**

**Obviously, Kakashi is not team 7's leader, Obito is. He seemed a more logical choice for a genin team leader. But don't worry! I have plans for Kakashi!**

**Sasuke is not on a path of revenge. Since he was raised by Itachi and Obito, they managed to cool his spirit. I'm going to write him as a serious, cool and collected character, with is usual spats with Naruto. **

**Naruto and Sasuke work together while hating each other's guts: Naruto was raised by Minato, who basically was the embodiment of teamwork and a kindness. It would only make sense that he passed his way on to Naruto. For Sasuke, again, he was raised by Itachi and a little by Obito, and they both have the mindset of the Hokage! It all had to do with their home situations.**

**Again, I'm really sorry I have to leave, but I will write again as soon as I get back! In the meantime, you will have to cope with reading something else! I advise you read "Failures and Misunderstandings", an interesting story that takes place in a setting where team 7 was thrown out of the chunin exams, and Sasuke never left the village for Orochimaru. The story is a well written collaboration between various fanfiction authors, NOT including myself.**

**Anyways, see you guys in ten days!**


	11. Chapter 11: Birds in a cage

**I'm back from the dead! I had a lot of fun the past 10 days, and i was really tired when I got back, and when I'm tired, I don't write as good as usual. That, and the fact that most of you voted for the next arc to be made from scratch made me not want to write for a while. But it's been 2 days since I got back, and I think I'm ready!**

**So it took me a while to come up with a good storyline because, well, I had to come up with an idea for an entire arc, which is not easy. But I think I came up with an amazing replacement for the wave arc, now I just gotta write it well aswell!**

Naruto knew what chores were. Since he didn't have a mother and his father was always busy, they kept him quite busy, so he knew them very well. And those so called "missions" his team got weren't missions, they were chores. And Naruto _hated_ chores!

"I REFUSE! I DO NOT WANNA GO ON ANOTHER STUPID D-RANK MISSION!" Naruto complained. Sakura smacked him on the head "Idiot! Stop making such a fuss about it! Were only genin, what did you expect?" she said with mad eyes.

Obito smiled nervously. He had the feeling he had seen this all before, but where?

Minato sighed. He felt bad: he knew how boring D-ranks were, but the thought of sending his son into battle was terrifying. "Obito, what do you think? Are they ready?" he asked. Obito shrugged. "They have showed great improvement in both teamwork and strength the past 2 months, I think they can handle it. A simple C-rank would be good experience for them. But the decision is all yours, sensei" he said. He knew his team could handle it, he just didn't know if Minato could.

Minato sighed, and reluctantly picked up a C-ranker from his pile. "I think you would be ready for this one. An old man and his grandson had recently come to visit his family in Konoha, and he is leaving tomorrow morning. He requested a small protection unit to scare off bandits on his way home. Nothing too serious should happen, but you never know. Prepare your ninja gear and meet the client around 5 o' clock tomorrow" Minato said as he handed them the mission briefing. "That's quite early for a mission, isn't it sensei?" Obito asked. "I know, the man probably just wants to be home soon" Minato said. Team 7 was about to leave, but Minato called out for Naruto. "Naruto, can I have a word with you for a moment?"

Naruto turned around and Minato waited until the rest of team 7 had left. "Naruto, tell Sasuke and Sakura that they should meet around 7 o'clock, not 5 o'clock" Minato said. Naruto raised his eyebrow. "Why did you tell us otherwise before then?" Naruto asked. "Just to make sure Obito will arrive on time. Otherwise, you would be waiting there for 2 hours at least!" Minato explained as he smiled at his son. "Take good care of yourself, Naruto. I don't want to see you get hurt" he said to his son, who smiled awkwardly. "Don't worry dad! After all, I will be hokage one day!" Naruto cheered as he ran out the office. Minato smiled as he watched his son leave.

"Some things never change, huh Minato sensei?" the ANBU guard behind Minato said. Minato smiled. The resemblance with them was terrifying, it really was…

The following day, Naruto woke up at 6 o'clock, and started to get ready for his first C-rank mission. He changed into his orange jumpsuit, grabbed his ninja gear, put his headband in place, grabbed a sandwich and jumped out of the window. He hadn't been this excited since he graduated into a genin! He would finally get to see the world outside of Konoha! He jumped down next to Sakura and Sasuke, and to his surprise, Obito. "There you are, Naruto! I never thought that my entire team would be just as late as me for occasions!" Obito said with a small smile. "It doesn't matter, though, since the client isn't here yet either" he explained, and he and his team had a little small talk for 5 minutes, and then the client arrived at the gate. "Ahh, so you will be my escorte, huh? It's nice to meet you!" The older man spoke up. He wore a wool jacket with a light gray cloak vest under it. He had a scar on his face, and a white beard. On his head, he wore a straw hat with an forehead protector on with a symbol no one of team 7 ever saw before, the kanji of family (ファミ). Next to him was a small little boy, who couldn't be older than 6 years. He wore a small, white kimono held by a gray belt. He wore black pants and sandals, and his hair was neatly combed.

"Grandpa? Are these the people that will come with us?" the boy asked, eager to go home. "Yes, Satoshi, they will protect us from all the bad people on the way home, so don't worry about a thing, okay?" the old man told the little kid, who visibly relaxed.

"Yeah, don't worry about a thing! We will protect you from any bandit that dares to cross our path!" Naruto promised the little boy, who tried to hide behind his grandfathers leg.

"Sorry, but Satoshi is a little shy around strangers. But he's a nice kid, I promise! My name is Guran, I'm an ex-shinobi. In the old days I wouldn't have asked for an escort, but these old bones won't allow me to fight anymore. I can barely make the travel to my village as I am now" the old man said. Obito spoke up "Well, it's nice to meet you, Guran. My name is Obito, and these are my genin: Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto. Don't worry, we will protect you!" Obito said in his usual cheerful tone.

As they left through the gates of Konoha, Naruto was one big smile. Since his father was Hokage, there was no time for vacations or anything, and this was the first time Naruto ever left the walls of his village. The feeling of freedom and an enormous world was amazing, and he had never felt this free before.

Obito walked a little faster until he was next to Guran so he could speak with him. "You said you were an ex-shinobi, but I have never seen a headband like yours before. What village are you from, if you don't mind me asking?" Obito wanted to know. "I'm not from a village. My family has been serving those in need for generations. We possess a strong kekkei genkai called meiton, which gives us an advanced form of manipulating chakra; both our own and that of our opponents" Guran explained.

"I see. So where are we escorting you to then, if it's not a ninja village?" Obito asked curiously.

"To Dango town, in the land of mirrors. I settled there after I retired, and I lived there with my wife. After a while, my son and his wife joined us, and now we live there in peace. Only little Satoshi here is still training to be a ninja, and the inheritor of our clan's kekkei genkai" Guran answered. Obito's eyes widened "But the land of mirror lies deep in the mountains, and you need to follow a long and dangerous mountain path to get there. Not to mention the land of mirrors is outside of the allied lands of fire, so entering is pretty dangerous for ninja, since battle with other villages may occur at any time!" Obito remarked, but Guran shrugged. "I know of a secret path in the mountains that will shorten our journey considerably. It is also very secure, so don't worry about meeting other ninja. It's for the road after the shortcut that I asked for an escort for".

The rest of the journey went without a hitch. Guran stopped team 7 before a big rock. Naruto got annoyed. "Come on! Why are we stopping in front of this rock? It's not like he stands out around here!" he said as he walked around. They had just crossed the border and entered the mountains of the land of mirrors. "This rock holds the secret path through the mountains. I will open it up" Guran said as he held out his hand. A weird marking of two overlapping rectangles appeared on his hand, and he put it on the rock. Suddenly, the rock started trembling, and a part of it crumbled down, revealing a secret passage. "Follow me, this will take us to the other side of the mountain" Guran said and they all followed his lead.

Obito was tensed. This place gave him a weird feeling, as if they shouldn't be here. They were walking through a stone tunnel, lit by torches. Something about this place was… off. But he just couldn't put his finger on it. As they kept walking, the tunnel split occasionally. It probably connected multiple villages together. He looked at his watch Rin got him when he became jonin. Something about it "helping him to be on time". Too bad he always forgot he had the damn thing. He noticed it was getting late, so he stopped and told his team they would go to sleep, and continue through the passage tomorrow morning. Guran agreed, stating that his old bones needed some rest. They all took out their sleeping bags and went to sleep.

Around 2 o'clock, Guran woke up. He stood up, and ran through the tunnels as fast as he could. After a little while, he arrived at a door, and went through it. In the room behind the door was a man. It was dark, so Guran couldn't see him clearly, but he knew who it was. You could feel it.

"Ahh, Guren. I was afraid you had ran away. But you would never let your family down, now would you? Have you done as I asked?" The man said.

"Yes, my lord. I brought you the Uchiha kid you asked for. Now please, let my son go. I don't want him to suffer any longer!" Guran pleaded to the man.

"I will return your son when the Uchiha is mine. So you better lead me to him!" the man warned him.

"Yes, my lord" Guran said as he left again, while being followed by two sinister eyes.

The following morning, team 7 woke up. It was weird, because there was no daylight in the cave. They got dressed and ate breakfast, and resumed their trip through the tunnels. After about 5 minutes, Guran suddenly stopped. Obito tensed "Why are we stopping now? Is something wrong?" Guran turned around and faced them. "I'm sorry, I have no other choice" he said, and less than a second later, they were surrounded by ninja. Team 7 took their battle positions. Who would want to launch an assault on them? Obito shrugged. He had a bad feeling about this…

The group of ninja attacked. Obito formed a rasengan and blasted a large group of them, while Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura fend them off with basic taijutsu. Sakura especially was having a hard time keeping up.

Naruto raised one arm and started to gather up chakra "Bouseki Sheishou!" he shouted as spinning strings of chakra formed in his hand. He then pushed this hand into an enemy's stomach, pushing him backwards. Naruto then formed a dozen of shadow clones that all started to attack the enemy at once.

Sasuke flashed through some handseals and ended in the tiger "Katon: Goukakyu no jutsu!" A large fireball shot from his mouth, blasting some of the enemy ninja. He then proceeded to engage in taijutsu combat, and managed to hold his ground.

Sakura created 3 bunshin and leapt at the enemy, trying to confuse them. She threw shuriken to the opponent next to her, and used a substitution jutsu to narrowly dodge the enemy's kunai barrage.

"There are too many of them, sensei! We can't handle them!" Sasuke said. Obito winced. How had he not noticed this was all a setup before? Ex-shinobi should still be able to take care of themselves, especially if they can effortlessly open big secret passages like that.

"Everybody, get behind me. I will take care of this. I will protect you no matter what!" Obito said, and the three genin did as told. When they were all behind him, Obito activated his mangekyou sharingan and flashed through some handsigns and ended in the tiger "Katon: Bakufu Ranbu!" he said as he started to breath fire, which he then spun by using Kamui. The flames started to engulf the battlefield, and one after another the enemy ninja perished in the flames. When Obito was done, he took a deep breath.

"Hah! How did you like my personal technique, huh?" he said daringly, yet out of breath. The enemy ninja that survived looked in horror at the burned corpses, but resumed their attack nonetheless. Team 7 now quickly took care of them, until the last one was knocked out. Obito then turned to Guran, who was watching from a distance. "Now you better explain what the meaning of this is, or do I need to knock some sense into you?" Obito asked, his sharingan glaring at Guran.

"I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice!" Guran said, as black markings started to spread over his face. Obito's eyes widened in shock. He had seen this happen before, to the girl named Anko, who was the pupil of Orochimaru! He watched in horror as the man's skin was completely engulfed in the black pattern.

"You three, stay behind me, and take your defensive positions. You cannot beat this enemy, he is way out of you reach. Stay behind and protect eachother!" Obito ordered the three genin, who quicly took their positions. Except for Naruto. "Sensei, you can't expect us to do nothing when the situation is so dangerous! Let us help you!" Naruto said. "There is nothing you can do, you will only be in the way. This mission is no longer a normal C-rank. It's at least A-rank or higher! So shut up and let me handle this!" Obito said. Naruto took a step back and took his position. He had never seen his sensei like this before. You could practically feel the killing intent in the air.

"Don't worry, I will protect you with my life" Obito said.

Guran ran at Obito, who started to run at Guran. They both took out a kunai, and clashed when they met. Behind Obito, a shadow clone jumped up and tried to stab Guran with a kunai. Guran jumped back, and formed a few hand seals. "Meiton: kyuketsuko!" he said as he reached his hand out to Obito. A blue light came from Obito, who just ran at Guran, and he could feel his chakra being sucked away. He jumped back and breathed heavily. How fast could Guran absorb his chakra? He didn't have time to think about it, as the chakra that Guran absorbed was now coming out of the black squares on his hand. "Meiton: Torakkingu seiryoku nami!" The blue chakra Guran was holding now shot out from his hand, straight at Obito. Obito dodged, but the chakra changed its path, tracking Obito wherever he went. "You cannot escape this jutsu, It's your chakra, so it only follows you. It will keep following you until it hits you!" Guran taunted. Obito turned around and activated his mangekyou. Guran stood dumbfounded as the chakra blast he shot just twisted and disappeared into nothingness. "What? How did you…" Guran tried to ask, but before he had the chance, Obito was already next to him. Guran narrowly dodged the incoming kick, and jumped backwards. He held out his hand once more. "Meiton: Jajijmento!" he said and blue flames shot out of his hand like a flamethrower. Obito dodged it just in time, and jumped above Guran. He formed a rasengan in his right hand, and held it out in front of him. He then activated his kamui, which he centered inside of the spinning ball of chakra, which now lost its blue color, and more resembled a small, spinning kamui vortex in his hand. "Jigenno Rasengan! (Dimensional Rasengan)". He was about to hit Guran, who quickly held his hand above him to absorb Obito's technique. This, however, was a mistake, as a tearing pain ripped through his hands, and started to rip his hands apart. As the rasengan made contact, the pain became unbearable, and he screamed it out. He looked at his bleeding arms, and then passed out.

Obito took a deep breath. There was no doubt about who was behind all of this. He flashed through some handsigns and put his hand on the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

A small, red frog appeared on the ground. Obito took out a scroll and wrote something on it, and gave it to him. "Give this to the hokage as fast as you can, it is of utmost importance!" Obito said, and the toad disappeared.

"Obito-sensei? What just happened? Why did they attack us, and who?" Sakura asked. Obito shrugged. "I don't know why, but that old man Guran had these strange markings on his body. I have only seen those once before, and if I'm right, we are dealing with one of the legendary sannin here, called Orochimaru. He is a dangerous person, and I'm not strong enough to defeat him by myself. We need to get out of here, and fast too!" Obito said, and they all turned around to leave, but stopped when they heard a voice behind them.

"Oww, you are all leaving so soon? I was hoping we could have a little fun. But hey, you can't have everything now, can you? So why don't you just stay here, Obito was it? And I will let your little genin go. How about it?" A sinister voice said behind them. They turned around, and Obito's eyes widened in disgust. There stood a tall man with long, black hair. His eyes were yellow and slitted, and he had a snow white skin. He wore a beige kimono with a purple rope belt.

Obito gestured his genin team to get out of there and, since they trusted their sensei's judgement, did as told. Obito then turned to the man behind him again. "Orochimaru".

Minato was busy filing some documents. You know, the usual hokage stuff, when a small red toad appeared on his desk.

"Croak!"

"What is it, Gamacho?" Minato asked

"Croak!"

"A urgent letter for me from Obito saying that they are in trouble?" Minato said.

"Croak!"

"Well what are you waiting for? Give it here already!" Minato said as he forcibly took the scroll of the toads back.

"CROAK!" The frog said as he fell on the ground, and poofed away.

"_This is not good! If what Obito says in this letter is correct, we have a crisis on our hands! I need to assemble a ANBU team as fast as I can. I hope Naruto is okay…" _Minato thought as he read the letter.

"Well don't you look troubled? What's got you down this time, brat?" Jiraiya said behind him. Minato's eyes widened. Even better than an ANBU team!

"Jiraiya, I have a mission for you. You'll understand once you read this" Minato said as he handed Jiraiya the scroll. Five seconds later, Jiraiya put the scroll down, and turned to the window.

"I got it!" Jiraiya said as he body flickered away. Minato sunk in his chair. Oh how he wanted to just leave and go save his son from Orochimaru himself! But he was Hokage, and if word got out he left, it might mean a whole new world war. He prayed for his son's safety as he put all of his fate in Jiraiya.

Right after leaving the village gate, Jiraiya summoned a small messenger toad.

"Yo yo, Jiraiya-boy! How's it going, I wanna know!" the toad said, making Jiraiya sweatdrop. "Don't tell me you started rapping to, Amichi? One rapping toad is more than enough!" Jiraiya complained.

"Allright, allright, what did you need me for?" the toad asked normally this time.

"There is something you need to tell the other toads, and fast too. Listen…" Jiraiya started. After he explained his plan, the toad returned to mount myouboku, to tell the others Jiraiya's plan.

"It's good to know that the hidden leaf hasn't forgotten me. I certainly haven't forgotten them. It's been so long since I last saw it, I might pay it a visit again soon, who knows. But anyways, it is you I'm interested in. Those beautiful, red eyes that give off a terrifying feeling. I've had my eyes on them for a long time, but the Uchiha never let one slip away. And I must say, your eyes look especially beautiful. I could just rip them out of your skull!" Orochimaru said. Obito took a fighting stance, and readied himself for the upcoming battle that he didn't think he could win.

Obito flashed through his handsigns and ended on the familiar tiger seal. "Katon: Gokakyou no jutsu!" A large fireball shot out of his mouth. It was almost too big for the tunnel they were fighting in, so Orochimaru couldn't dodge it. When the flames disappeared, Obito's eyes widened. _"A mud substitution!" _he thought as Orochimaru appeared behind him, shouting "Senei tanashou!". Dozens of snakes shot out of Orochimaru's sleeve at blinding speed, but thanks to the sharingan, Obito managed to dodge it just in time. Obito flashed through his handseals, and took a deep breath "Katon: haisekishou!" he then spewed a large, thick ash cloud from his mouth, engulfing the tunnel. Orochimaru couldn't see anything, and was curious what his opponent was up to. Obito stayed out of the cloud, and simply flicked his fingers, setting the whole cloud ablaze. After the smoke cleared up, he saw nobody there. He activated his sharingan, and jumped away just in time to dodge Orochimaru's hand that shot up from under him.

"That wasn't half bad, you are a true genius of the fire style. What did they call you again? Ahh, right! Konoha's Blazing eyes! Now I remember! Even more a reason to make you my new vessel!" Orochimaru said as he waved through his handseals and bit his thumb. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!".

A second later, a large snake was under Orochimaru, ready to obey any order. Obito wave through some handsigns himself and tried to summon a frog of equal size… only to summon gamakichi.

"Yo, friend? What do ya need me for?" He asked. Obito's eyes widened. "GAMAKICHI? WHY DID YOU APPEAR? OFF ALL THE MOMENTS TO FLUNK THE SUMMONING JUTSU!" he shouted comically. Orochimaru chuckled. "Hmmm, maybe you aren't worth the effort after all. You do seem kinda pitifull!" he said.

"Don't worry, I was told to come whenever you tried to summon a toad again. Jiraiya warned us this might happen!" Gamakichi said. The small toad then began waving through some handseals, and put his hand on the ground. "Gyaku Kuchiyose no jutsu!" he said as white smoke appeared under him. When the smoke cleared, Gamakichi sat atop a bush of wild hair, smirking at Obito.

"What the… What just happened?" Obito asked.

"I happened! The title "Frog Hermit" Is merely a disguise! I shall tell you my true identity! I am the man who has no enemies in the North, South, East and West! Not even in the heavens! I am one of the Sannin… White haired frog tamer! Even a crying baby would stare in awe.. The great Jiraiya! That's me!" Jiraiya said as he preformed his usual dance and ended in a striking pose on his usual toad.

Orochimaru's face went from amused to annoyed. Of course, the one person who could foil his attempt to seize the sharingan would have to appear…

**THAT'S IT! Forgive me if this chapter wasn't "amazing". I need to get back into the story after such a long time off. I thought I would be able to return to my usual pace immediately, but boy was I wrong. After I returned, it took me 2 days to get back into my daily routine. I was really tired when I came back from my 10 day summer camp (which, in actuality, lasted 10 nights and 11 days… sorry :P). Not to mention you guys voted for a totally new arc I came up with from scratch! Poor people in wave…**

**Anyways, I hope I made up for it with this slightly longer chapter. It's not the best one, but I do feel like it matters to the storyline. I still have 2 things planned for this arc. But first, Orochimaru and Jiraiya have to take the fight outside, because I am tired of putting people in a tunnel…**

**Anyways, I have to wrap things up! My parents and my sister leave for 7 days to some island in Portugal, so I'll be home alone. Which means time to write! I will start writing the next chapter tomorrow. See ya!**

**This part belonged to the previous reply chapter, which I will delete when this is posted.**

**Renoa-hime: I guess you know now… He couldn't save the Uchiha clan, but he could save Itachi. I think that is a remarkable feat on its own. As usual, I hope everybody likes the way I make things go!  
Ps: what do you mean Madara? I never said it was him :D**

**Rosebunse: I don't really know how to respond, besides to thank you for reviewing! It's good to know you like it!**

**No Name Anime Fan: Where did you get your time traveling device, and how does it work?  
And I don't think I'm going to give Obito the chidori… Chidori is Kakashi's thing, and not really Obito's style. Kakashi and Obito's relationship is mirrored in the one Sasuke and Naruto have, so it's more likely for him to just know the rasengan, to equal them out.**

**And I know some of you might argue with the fact Obito is stronger due to sharingan (Kakashi obviously doesn't have one), AND him having double Kamui (even more OP version of the previous one… I may have to nerf that one. Or maybe let it actually turn Obito blind (bad writing is bad)), but just know that I have plans for Kakashi. He also knows a new jutsu…**

**Anyways, it's due to you guys (and everybody who reviewed, favorited or followed either me or my story) that this story is still alive. I couldn't ask for a better experience, and I'm slightly surprised that it's doing so well, since its neither a kittenfic or a NaruSasu fic (shivers).**


	12. Chapter 12: First battle! Life or death!

**Ahh, the peace and quit in our house is refreshing… It's great not having to listen to anybody… Which makes great time for writing!**

"Hey dobe, do you think running is the right thing to do? I mean, I know that it's dangerous and all, but we are still a team! And danger is part of a ninja's job!" Sasuke asked. His brother and Obito had been teaching him the importance of teamwork for years, so leaving sensei behind to fight one of the most dangerous criminals of all time felt wrong.

"I know, it's bugging me too. But I heard story's from my dad about this Orochimaru guy, and let me tell you: they aren't pretty. He is just as strong as the pervy-sage! Obito sensei was right, we would just be a burden like this, since he would have to worry about us while fighting Orochimaru" Naruto said with a sad expression. Sasuke stared at him for a while. For as long as he had known him in the academy, they hadn't been the best of friends. But even Sasuke could tell that this was out of character for Naruto.

Suddenly, they felt a tremor going through the entire tunneling system. Behind them, the ceiling came falling down, and they had to make a run for it to avoid being crushed. When they reached safer grounds, they could see sunlight coming from where the ceiling used to be. And in that sunlight, they could see a big, orange frog in a blue kimono with a pipe in his mouth facing off against a giant snake.

Orochimaru glared at Jiraiya. This was certainly not going as planned. "Well well, look at what we have here! My old friend Jiraiya! I would love to catch up, but I'm currently occupied, so could you wait until my business is finished, perhaps?" Orochimaru said annoyed. Jiraiya smirked. "Sorry, no can do. Your'e facing off against one of Konoha's strongest jonin, so it would be a waste for you to take him. Besides, a fight against him would be way too one-sided, so why not fight me instead? You always enjoyed a challenge, didn't you Orochimaru?" Jiraiya teased.

"Well, if you won't step aside…" Orochimaru started, and flashed through handsigns so fast even Obito's sharingan could barely pick it up. "…I will have to kill you!" Three snakes shot from under his sleeves, and Jiraiya blocked by shooting them with oil bullets. Jiraiya then put his hands together and shot a jet of water through the air. Orochimaru dodged it, and came at Jiraiya with his sword of kusanagi, and Jiraiya formed a rasengan in his right hand. The legendary sword and S-rank technique clashed, and both Jiraiya and Orochimaru were flung back. Jiraiya quickly rose to his feet, and Orochimaru did so right after him. As if previously practiced, they both started to wave through handsigns and slammed their hands on the floor

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" They both shouted, and were engulfed in a large cloud of white smoke. The ceiling crumbled down, as the small hallway wasn't big enough to fit the two giant summons. When it cleared, a giant snake and toad were seen facing off against eachother.

"Orochimaru, why have you summoned me? You know I don't like to be bothered! You have some nerve!" Manda said.

"Oh well, I thought it might be nice to have a reunion with Gamabunta, wouldn't you agree?" Orochimaru asked.

"Gamabunta here? That makes things more interesting! I have been waiting for a long time to set my fangs in his ugly skin. Now that Katsuya isn't here to back you up, let's see how long you will last!" Manda taunted Gamabunta.

"Jiraiya, do you really think this is a good idea? We are not as young as we used to be, and you know it! This is risky. Any opponent would be fine, but Manda?" Gamabunta asked nervously. He never liked Manda. Every time they faced off, Manda would barely overpower him when Katsuya wasn't there with him.

"Yes, but our opponents aren't growing younger either. Anyway, it's not like we have a choice now, do we?" Jiraiya said. The two sides waited for the other to make the first move. As neither seemed to give in, they both charged at each other at the same time, Gamabunta drawing his sword and Manda opening his mouth to bite.

Obito was exhausted. It took all his energy to dodge those attacks Orochimaru threw at him. As he panted, he could feel the sense of bloodlust in the air. _"Well, what do you expect; it's two of the legendary sannin facing off there!" _he thought. He glanced at Jiraiya. "Thank you, Jiraiya sama" he muttered, and ran off to find his students.

"It's that Orochimaru creep and the pervy sage up there!" Naruto informed the two, but Sasuke had noticed it already. Sakura, however, was squinting her eyes to see what was going on.

"If I were you, I wouldn't leave myself so open in enemy territory" a low, grouchy voice said. Team seven turned arounds, and saw 3 people standing behind them. One was a tall boy with black, spiky hair and light brown robes. The other was a girl with long, black hair thrown behind her haid. She wore a sleeveless, green vest, but not like the chunin vests in Konoha, and wore a T-shirt and pants with a cameo pattern. But it was the guy in the front that looked the most off. It was a boy, older than them, who stood leaning forwards. He wore a big, gray kimono with sleeves so long they completely hid his hands. He had some weird straw raincoat on his back, and his face was wrapped in bandages.

Team 7 quickly formed a battle position, and readied their weapons. Dosu and his 2 companions eyed them with a amused expression on their face. "Well, let's play a game, shall we?" Dosu said, and ran at team 7. Sasuke dashed, and took out his kunai to block Dosu. He however, smirked and activated his gauntlet, which started to radiate a high-pitched sound. Sasuke jumped back, and winced in pain as he held a hand on his head. In the meantime, Naruto had taken on the other boy, Zaku, and Sakura was facing off against the girl, Kin.

Naruto formed a few shadow clones, and they all leapt at Zaku, who just raised his hands and blasted them away with a strong whirlwind, coming from two small tubes in the palm of his hand. "My hands can generate a blast strong enough to blow through these walls! They are like a balloon, the air escapes through a small hole, compressing it and making it more powerfull! You can't even touch me!" Zaku said, and stretched his arms once more, now aiming at Naruto, who stood in front of him. He created another blast, which shot straight at Naruto, who quickly dodged it, and threw a kunai at him. Zaku dodged, and prepared for another attack. Naruto winced: this was going to be harder then he thought…

Sakura was dodging senbon needles. _"Does she ever run out of these stupid things?" She _asked herself, as she dodged another batch. Kin, on the other hand, was enjoying herself. "Hey Dosu, can I have your guy? This girl is boring!" she said as she looked away from Sakura, and observed Dosu's fight.

Dosu was having a harder time. Sasuke may not have his sharingan, but his eyes were still very perceptive. As he dodged another kunai, dosu tried to get in closer to use his gauntlet. Sasuke, however, knew what it could do and decided not to fall for any of Dosu's tricks. "Katon: Gokakyou no jutsu!" a large fireball shot from his mouth at Dosu, who barely managed to dodge it in the small corridor. "You'll pay for that, brat!" he snarled as he leapt at Sasuke. Sasuke tried to jump backwards, but was stopped by two arms grabbing him. He looked behind him, and saw Kin holding him. Behind her, Sakura lied, bleeding from her head. He turned around, and saw Dosu right in front of him, ready to blast him with his sound waves. For a moment, everything seemed to freeze for sasuke. His vision started to grow weird, and he could now see Dosu moving in slowmotion for some reason. As Dosu slowly neared him, he tried to move his legs, and found that they moved slower as well. He kicked Dosu's gauntlet away, making the sound ninja lose his footing and trip. Kin, who was still holding Sasuke, leaned backwards. Sasuke, seeing an opening, pushed her further, and smacked her backwards on the ground. Dosu regained his foothing, but Sasuke had already jumped up and they were now in front of eachother, with Kin between them. Dosu's eyes widened in shock "Those eyes! That's the sharingan! To awaken it in the heat of battle, who are you?" he asked, astounded. "My name… Is Sasuke Uchiha!" Sasuke said as he leapt at Dosu. What followed was a barrage of kicks and punches Dosu found hard to dodge or block, as the sharingan could predict where his defence was weak. Sasuke was about to stab Dosu with a kunai, but noticed a foot coming at him from the corner of his eye. He jumped aside, and Kin landed on the ground. Kin and Dosu stared at Sasuke. This had just become a lot more difficult.

Naruto was still dodging all of Zaku's air blasts. _"Come on! There must be something I can do to stop this guy! Something I'm missing!" _Naruto thought. He looked at Zaku, who seemed to be enjoying himself, showing off his attacks whenever he could. "He thinks he's all thought with those airholes! 'Aww, they are like balloons, super impressive and stuff!' well, if they are like balloons, I wish they would just pop!" he thought angrily, when an idea struck him. He created some more shadow clones. One by one, his shadow clones started to throw shuriken. Zaku laughed and blowed them all away. "Is this the best you can do? Really disappointing!" he said, while giving Naruto a mocking smile. Naruto dispelled his clones. "Damnit!".

"Now, let's finish this!" Zaku said as he ran at Naruto, stretching his right arm out to him. Naruto took a defensive position. "Hah, like I won't be able to break through your stupid defense!" Zaku mocked. However, things did not go as he planned, when the shuriken that Naruto scattered before now turned into white smoke, and Zaku was suddenly attacked by a small army of Naruto clones, who all jumped on him. After wrestling match that lasted about 20 seconds, Zaku had had enough, and blasted the ground with his hand, blowing away most of the Naruto clones. "You have some nerve, kid! But this is the end! I will blast you harder than ever before!" Zaku said enraged. He extended his arms, and started to suck in huge amounts of air. "Now!" Naruto shouted, and some of the rubble created by the cave in started to move, and got sucked in with the current. When they entered the opening in his arms, the small stones turned into corks, and sealed the tubes shut. "What the…? You think this fake cork will stop my air current? Fat chance!" Zaku said, and started to blow air through his arms, but found himself unable to blow the corks away. Instead, his arms started to swell up, and Zaku could feel his muscles tear. "Why are they not disappearing? They are just shadow clones!" Zaku shouted nervously. "Because they aren't shadow clones!" Naruto said, pointing his hand at the wall. Zaku's eyes widened. His air attacks had blown open a door, leading to the room where Orochimaru developed poisons. Several flasks and bottles were neatly placed on shelves and tables. "I saw these corks, and instantly knew that they would be perfect, so one of my shadow clones snatched some for me when you weren't looking, and gave them to me when you were wrestling my clones on the ground. After that, I turned two of my shadow clones into rubble. After you sucked them in, thinking them to be harmless, they used the substitution jutsu to replace themselves with the corks! They are hard to blow away, aren't they? They were actually a little too big for your holes, so they are really stuck. But I must thank you!" Naruto said, grinning. "Because if you hadn't opened your big mouth and said that they were like balloons, I would have never had the idea… To pop them! Naruto said as he kicked Zaku's arm, which gave under the pressure and blasted air straight through his arms, ripping them apart. Zaku screamed in pain as he felt his bones shatter. He uttered one last curse to Naruto, and fell unconscious.

Naruto panted. These guy's proved more trouble then he thought. He turned around, and saw Sasuke smack Kin against the wall, and stab her with a kunai. He smiled, thinking it was over, but saw Dosu appear right behind him. "Sasuke! Watch out!" Naruto shouted, but it was too late. Dosu placed his hand on Sasuke's back, and blasted him with one of his sound waves. Sasuke coughed up blood, his red eyes widened, and he fell on the ground, murmering something Naruto couldn't hear.

In fact, Naruto couldn't hear anything. Or see anything, or feel for that matter. It seemed like the scene before him flew away from him, and he was surrounded by darkness. Behind him, a enormous fox grinned, and a orange liquid started to flow into Naruto.

Dosu turned to Naruto, to see that he actually finished off Zaku. He smirked. "Two down, only one to go" he said. Naruto was facing the ground, a grim expression on his face, though Dosu couldn't see it.

"What did you do, you bastard?" he asked

"I think you already know" Dosu replied.

"You… YOU… YOU WILL PAY!" Naruto said, as his hair stood up even more, his whisker markings on his face grew thicker, and his eyes became blood red, with two black slits in them. Dosu eyed him carefully. Naruto's face shot up. He was now glaring straight at Dosu, who was now trembling in fear.

"What? What are you?" Dosu asked. Naruto only roared in response, and started to spin his orange chakra in his hand, until it formed a spinning disk of red chakra strings. In the middle, it slowly became more ovale and thicker, and it had a blue shine to it. He ran at Dosu, who stretched his arm with the gauntlet, ready to blow Naruto away. "DIE!" Dosu shouted, but it was too late. Naruto was right in front of him, and pushed the disk of spinning chakra into Dosu. Normally, the attack would not have done too much. But with the thick, hot, red chakra, Dosu could feel the skin on his belly burn. A second later, he was send crashing into a wall. Naruto grabbed a kunai, and leapt at the unconscious Dosu, ready to kill him, but was stopped by a hand grabbing his arm. Obito stood next to him, and Naruto could slowly feel his rage disappear, as if it was flowing out of his body. "It's allright, Naruto. It's done. You don't have to fight anymore" Obito said.

"But Obito sensei! He killed Sasuke, his friend killed Sakura! I can't just let him go, can i?" Naruto asked dumbfounded. How could Obito even think of sparing Dosu?

"Sasuke and Sakura are alive. I know first aid healing Rin taught me, and closed Sakura's wound. She's fine for now. Sasuke I couldn't help, but he is still breathing. Though I think his back is badly hurt" Obito said.

"They are alive!" Naruto thought as he felt the last of his rage vanish, and the red chakra retreated into his body, his eyes turning back to their deep ocean blue color.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru were both exhausted. Orochimaru had been blown into a rock by Jiraiya, and Jiraiya had swordcuts all over him. Manda and Gamabunta were also down. Manda had Gamabunta's sword through his mouth, and Manda had almost suffocated Gamabunta with his body. At the same time, both summons disappeared, after giving each other a death wishing glare.

Orochimaru sighed. "Well Jiraiya, you thwarted me again today. But you will not be able to save everybody from me. Soon, the world will be at my feet! Don't forget it, old friend!" Orochimaru said, before slowly sinking into his own shadow. Jiraiya panted. Again, he was not able to completely take out his old comrade. He sighed, and turned to the hole he and Orochimaru made when they both summoned Manda and Gamabunta, and saw Naruto and Obito stand there, giving their two team members worrying looks. Jiraiya summoned another messenger toad. "Gaki, tell Minato to send a healing squad and a investigation squad right away. We have found one of Orochimaru's bases" Jiraiya said. The toad saluted him, and disappeared. Jiraiya then jumped down to tell them help is under way, and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. A gesture Naruto would never have expected from his godfather…

When they arrived back home, things hadn't gotten better. Sakura was taken to the hospital and was immediately treated. She could leave after 2 days. Sasuke however…

Sasuke's spine had not been broken in two, but had a fracture in its back. They could operate him to try and fix his back, but the operation was risky and nobody dared to try it. Minato was eyeing Sasuke carefully. "Jiraiya, I will have to send you on a mission immediately. You need to find Tsunade, and tell her she has to return right away. This is something only she can handle" Minato said. Jiraiya nodded, and disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

Minato looked at Naruto, who gave Sasuke a worried look. "Is it bothering you, Naruto?" Minato asked. Naruto shrugged. "No, I know Sasuke will pull through. I know he will. It's just that… I don't know what happened back there, but I sorta… Lost it? I don't know, but suddenly, everything seemed dark. And then it seemed like this evil power flowed into me, and I just attacked that sound ninja like crazy. I… I really wanted to kill him back there!" Naruto said, tears rolling from his eyes. Minato gave him a guilty look. "Naruto, let's go home. There's something you need to know, but nobody else is allowed to know. It's very secret information…" Minato said, preparing to give him the talk he should have given his son years ago, when he first entered the academy…

**Another chapter finished! I don't know why, but I could not bring myself to write at all. It felt like I had to force this chapter, and it's never good to have to force a chapter, because that means lower quality. But in the end, this chapter did what it had to do: awaken Sasuke's sharingan, and make Naruto use the kyuubi for the first time.**

**I had an amazing week. It was really peacefull around here. I just finished reading Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix for the second time. This time, however, I read it in English! Seeing as English is not my first language, I think it somewhat improved my writing. Anyways, I'm off to bed now. Tomorrow, my parent's will return, and hell will be unleashed (in the form of my sister).**

**Anyways, see you all next time, when team 7 reflects on their first S-ranked mission, Sasuke makes a decision, and Obito warns team 7 the chunin exams are coming up!**

**BTW: I know tsunade has a fear of blood in the canon, but I will write that out. I don't know how to implement that into the story.**

**To all those who reviewed, favorited, and/or PM'ed: Thanks! Have a cookie! *Hands out cookies***


	13. Chapter 13 Decisions

**Well, this is awkward. The next chapter is still a little bit "real", so to speak, but I'm in the mood for a fun chapter. This may be weird, but I'm not going to focus on Sasuke's character too much, seeing his circumstances, tough he might be mentioned a lot. MIGHT. Since I write these bold introduction's before I write, I don't really know. 'Cause I got no plan whatsoever for this chapter!**

It's been 2 weeks since team 7's A-rank mission to the land of mirrors, and 2 weeks since they met Orochimaru. Sasuke has been brought to intensive care, and has been given the best treatment possible, but the medical ninja haven't been able to repair his fragmented spine.

"So, how are things going?" Minato asked.

The head medical ninja, startled that the hokage himself showed up, replied with a grave voice. "Not too well, Hokage-sama. Although we know of a way to heal the young Uchiha, none of our healers feel up to the operation. In fact, nobody here could do it. We only know of one person who could heal him, but…"

"You are talking about Tsunade, one of the legendary sannin?" Minato asked. The medical ninja nodded.

"I'll get somebody to look for Tsunade. In fact, I already have somebody in mind" Minato glanced at Sasuke, who seemed to be pained, even in his sleep. " I will not let such a young life go to waste. We will heal him!"

Naruto was walking through the village's streets. As he carefully glanced to his left, he saw people stare at him. Some out of respect, for him being the Hokage's son, and some out of disgust. Naruto sighed. At least now he knew why people looked at him that way. He carefully placed his hand on his stomach. His father had shown him the seal, and explained him what he was. Naruto sighed once more. Even though he knows, things didn't change, nor did he expect them to. His goal remained the same: he would earn the respect of the village! With his mind set on his goal, he ran off to train...

…And ran into somebody.

"Ahh! I'm sorry miss! I didn't mean to run you over, I…" Naruto started, but was stopped when the woman ruffled his hair. "Naruto, still as devoted as ever, I see?" she replied. Naruto looked up, and suddenly realized how long it had been since he last saw her.

"Rin-nee!"

Itachi Uchiha was worried, to say the least. Actually, he was scared. No, scratch that, he was frightened. But how would you feel if your little brother, who means so much to you that you'd kill your entire family for him, ends up in the hospital and may never walk again? It was only natural to be frightened, right?

"Itachi, chill out! Running around in circles while biting your nails isn't going to help him. In fact, now of all times you should keep your calm!"

Obito sat in the couch watching Itachi walk a hole in the ground. That's right. WALK! A deep trench that came up to his knees showed the circle he had been walking around their coffee table. Itachi spun around to face Obito.

"But he may never walk again! His spine snapped, he is seriously hurt! How could he ever become a ninja again? This is nerve wrecking!" Itachi replied in a pleading voice. Obito sighed.

"Look, Minato-sensei will send someone to fetch Tsunade-sama, so there's no need to worry! There hasn't been a single person who she couldn't heal!" Obito said, though he knew he was lying. He heard stories of how she tried to save her boyfriend, and how it changed her forever. Supposedly, she even feared the sight of blood nowadays, which is not a good condition for a medical ninja. He may not let it on, but Obito Uchiha was worried as well. But since he was the head of what's left of the great Uchiha clan, he couldn't show weakness, not in front of Itachi, the only adult Uchiha left besides him.

"Look, instead of ruining the foundation, you could just check up on Sasuke you know. He is allowed to have visitors, starting today, and I'm sure he would like to see you. As his big brother, you should be there for him in times of need" Obito said.

"Yeah, your'e right! I should! I'll just…" But Obito never heard the rest of his words, as he got lost in his thoughts. _As a big brother, you should be there for him in times of need! _Obito winced. He had no right to say that. If only he had spend more time with Shisui, maybe he wouldn't have…

But he knew it was pointless. Shisui died protecting the village, and Obito knew he wouldn't have liked it any other way. Yet when they found the body, his eyes were gone. And now, years later, Obito still wonders who took Shisui's eyes. "_Troubles for later, it doesn't matter now. What matters is that my student makes a full recovery_" and with that thought, he stood up, and made his way to the hospital together with Itachi.

12 days later

Jiraiya was following a dirt road that led to the village of steam. He had been on the road for several days now, and his feet started to feel soar. Yet his mind was still focused on his mission: he had to find his old teammate, Tsunade. He sighed. He hadn't seen her in years, and their relationship was "friendly" at best. If with friendly you mean getting punched in the guts on a daily basis, that is. And yet here he was, on what seemed to be an endless search for a woman who didn't even want to be found! But she had no choice; she had to come back, or a young, sad life would go to waste…

As he looked in the distance, he could already make out the village, beaming in the sunset. Steam rose from the chimneys, and he could faintly make out the market place, where people went along with their everyday business. It was a small little mountain town, surrounded by multiple hot springs.

"_Well at least I can do some research for my next book!_" he thought, and a pervy grin spread across his face.

As he entered the village, the first thing he did was ask the bartender of the first pub he could find a list of local gambling houses. The bartender, who looked a bit shady, eyed Jiraiya for a second. He then took out a pen and paper and wrote down all the ones he could think off. In the meantime, Jiraiya ordered a drink.

And another…

And another…

And another…

Around 11 o'clock, Jiraiya left the pub, with a red nose and an empty pocket, except for the paper with local gambling houses. As he walked through the streets, he felt a little shaky, and his vision was blurry. He didn't know where he was going, as long as he got there it would be fine.

Appearently, "there" was a random bench in the middle of the village, where Jiraiya soundly fell asleep, not be wake up until…

8 Men were staring at her, increasing the pressure put on her. But she didn't flinch. She didn't shudder. She calmly took the cup, shook it, and threw the contents on the table…

2

1

The men all cheered in victory, and Tsunade took out some money and threw it next to the dice. "_Stupid things never fall right!_" she thought as she watched the men split the money between them.

Meanwhile, Shizune cast Tsunade a look of terror. Tsunade's gambling debts were already piling up, and things only seemed to get worse.

"Lady Tsunade, that's enough for today, don't you think? It's already dark! Let's just leave!" Shizune pleaded. Tsunade shrugged. "Aww, allright! I need a drink anyway" she said as she stood up and walked to the door. "Ehh, that's not what I…" Shizune started, but Tsunade had already left. Shizune sighed; things really only got worse…

As they entered the local pub, Tsunade ordered a bear, despite a pleading Shizune's request to just drink tea. After she finished, she once more turned to the bartender.

"Could you perhaps give me a good list of all the gambling houses in town?" she asked, and the bartender gave her a nasty look. "You too eh? Seems like a lot of people try their luck nowadays. Earlier, a man with long, white hair came in asking the same question, before drowning himself in alcohol" he said as he picked up his pen and paper again, and started noting down. Tsunade gulped down her drink, and snatched the list out of the man's hand as soon as he was finished, shocking the man a little bit. Before he could insult her, though, she had already left the pub. Shizune ran after her.

"Lady Tsunade! Wait up!" she said as she caught up to her. "Why did you leave so suddenly?" Shizune asked.

"I just want a place to sleep, we're leaving first thing in the morning" Tsunade said, while looking for a hotel. Shizune wanted to complain, since they hadn't tried out the hotsprings here (which were famous for being extremely good), but noticed something that caught her attention.

"Lady Tsunade, is that… Master Jiraiya?" she asked, which caused Tsunade to look up. "Yeah, your'e right... Let's look in this street!" she said, attempting to turn, but Shizune stopped her. "We can't let him sleep there, he'll get sick! We have to bring him with us!" she said firmly. Tsunade winced; there were multiple reasons that she didn't want to take Jiraiya with her.

He was probably here for her, which meant that the village needed her, and she didn't quite feel like returning any time soon.

Two, a drunken, passed out Jiraiya was more trouble than Shizune could ever imagine…

"Aw, he'll be fine! His immune system has endured more than that over the years! Let's just look for a…" but Tsunade was already being dragged away. This time, it was her turn to plead and Shizune's to ignore her.

After 15 minutes of trying to wake Jiraiya up, half an hour of dragging him through the streets and 5 minutes treating an unconscious Jiraiya after Tsunade broke his arm when he grabbed her boob, they finally found an hotel they could stay in. They ordered a room with two chambers, and threw Jiraiya into the smallest one. Shizune could hear Tsunade mutter the word "pathetic", but merely laughed at her cranky tutor. Both women prepared to go to sleep, but little did they know that there wouldn't be much sleep thanks to a certain toad sage's snoring habits…

The following morning, the trio woke up, two of them with an heavy hangover. Tsunade and Jiraiya were both drinking a dark roast coffe, while Shizune explained to Jiraiya how he ended up in an hotel.

"… and then we dragged you here. So you better be gratefull!" she said as she ate her breakfast.

When the two sannin had overcome their hangover, Tsunade faced Jiraiya. "So, why did they send you after me? Did the village get blown up?" Tsunade asked with a curious glare. Jiraiya sighed.

"A boy, only a genin, got wounded on his first C-rank mission. His back has several fractures in them, and none of the medical ninja are skilled enough to heal the boy. There is only one medical ninja in this world who could even attempt the operation" Jiraiya explained. Tsunade laughed. "Well, just let the kid heal naturally, have a stiff back for the rest of his life and tell him he starts education for another job, because I'm not coming back any time soon!" she said, in a tone that tried to make Jiraiya understand the conversation was over, but he didn't give up that soon. "Well, it's not that easy. You see, the kid that got hurt was one of the three last remaining Uchiha, so it is really important for him to get back on his feet. Besides, I know you better than that, Tsunade. No matter what you say, or how indifferent you act; you wouldn't let a young ninja loyal to your village's life to ruin. It's against your principles" Jiraiya said.

Tsunade took a deep breath. She wasn't getting out of this that easy. "_And the worst thing is he's right!" _she thought. "If the kid can't even make it out of a C-rank, he'll never make a decent ninja" Tsunade said, although her words sounded emptier than before.

"Again, it's not that easy. You see, when their mission seemed to come to a conclusion, something unexpected happened, turning the mission from a C-rank, to an high-classified S-rank mission" Jiraiya explained. Tsunade's eyes widened. "What happened on that mission?" she asked. Jiraiya looked her in the eye. "Our old friend Orochimaru happened. You see now why it is so important? He was after the sharingan. If you don't help that kid up, he will be defencless. And if so, he will be an easy target for that old snake. This is of utmost importance, Tsunade!" Jiraiya said in his most serious tone. Tsunade nodded in defeat. There was no way she was getting out of this one…

It had been almost two weeks since Naruto ran into Rin. He and her then had a talk about Naruto's Jinchuuriki problem, which his father told him about earlier, and also told him who knew about the secret. Naruto, however, was completely shocked that Rin was also a Jinchuuriki, even if she only has a part of the Sanbi's power.

"_The power of tailed beasts is both a blessing and a curse, Naruto. Altough people look at you with angly eyes, their power is also of use to protect those close to us. You posses the ninetails, the strongest of the tailed beasts. You yourself must decide how you will use that power for the greater good. It's a dangerous road to walk, I know that by experience, and yours will be even harder. But I know you will be able to do it. Just make sure you never give up on you goals_"

These words had echoed in Naruto's mind ever since. He didn't understand completely what she meant by them, but he knew he would take them to heart. Since he had just been wandering around the village again, he was now nearing the gates. If he looked closely, he could swear he saw 3 people approaching in the distance. He watched as they grew closer, hope filling his mind at the sight of Jiraiya, now in the company of 2 women. His dad said Jiraiya was looking for the greatest medical ninja of all time to heal Sasuke, and Naruto wondered if he succeeded.

5 Minutes later he was dragging Tsunade off towards the hospital.

Tsunade was now with Sasuke, Itachi and Obito, after asking everybody else to leave the room. Naruto, who had been trying to eavesdrop, was punched on the head and dragged off by and angry Sakura, leaving Tsunade completely alone with the 3 last Uchiha.

"The diagnose is absolute: Sasuke's back is so broken that it is beyond the repair level of a normal medic. But there is a way to help him; but only I can attempt the operation, it will be long an painfull, and there is only a 50% chance it will be a success. All in all, it is best that you stop being a Shinobi. After all, if the operation fails… You will die" she informed them. Obito and Itachi were now looking at Sasuke. Whatever they said had no meaning; since Sasuke was officially a genin, the decision lay with him. Sasuke in the meantime, had a slightly worried expression. But nevertheless, he nodded his head. "I will take the surgery"

Tsunade was taken slightly aback by this; he said it so simple, so calm. She was worried he didn't understand the difficulty and the risk of this operation. "I'm afraid you didn't hear me correct…" But she never finished, as Sasuke spoke up. "I have trained my whole life to become a shinobi. It is what makes the Uchiha clan so powerfull. I have finally achieved the first step of becoming a true Uchiha, which is to awaken the sharingan; I will not quit now. I will restore the honor of my clan, and build it up from the ground. So this is a risk that I have to take".

Tsunade was still kinda shocked, but nevertheless nodded. "We will begin the surgery tomorrow, so there is no danger of further damage to be caused. Have a good night's sleep, it will increase your chance of survival". Sasuke just nodded back at her.

And, unbeknownst to anybody, Tsunade would be studying until late that night to ensure the survival of this intruiging Uchiha kid.

**I ANSWER REVIEWS DOWN BELOW!**

**No matter what I tried, I couldn't give this chapter a truly "light" feeling, since it follows up to last chapter, but I tried. I like this chapter, especially the last part I wrote (it took a couple of days to write). So yeah, next chapter, a courier hawk of the hidden sand will arrive at Konoha, bearing news!**

**Next chapter may take a while, since I bought a new computer yesterday, and it will arrive tomorrow. I will set it up on Saturday, and then I have to install a lot of stuff on it. This means it will take a while for me to get used to it, and to actually be able to write. Also, school starts next week here in Belgium, so I will have work stacked on top of my usual laziness. Updates will be slowed down considerably.**

**BTW, I read the last chapter of the fight against Kaguya today. For those who watch the anime: it will not disappoint :)**

**Anonymous830: Yes, Kakashi still has his left eye. And good spot! I totally forgot he was a fresh Jonin there!  
As for the lightning hounds: we actually do not know. Kakashi used only once: in the fight against Pain. It isn't said how long he knows it, or if he even made it himself! Since Kakashi in this story is different from the one from the anime, I took the bet.**

**Rosebunse: Why thank you!**

**ThePizziaMan: *Used shiki fujin on Kurama, pulled out his chakra, and used eight trigrams on both Naruto and himself. Plus, in my story, the third sealed Kurama.  
But yeah, youv'e got a point.**

**Princessbinas: Thanks for the support! Oh, and no spoilers!**

**TrueSavage: we'll see who becomes the fifth, I already have a vague idea… But again, my mouth is shut and spoiler free! (Btw, Obito wasn't controlled by spiral zetsu, he used spiral zetsu's body. It was all Obito who killed those guys).**


	14. Chapter 14: Bringer of good news

**You may think i'm a terrible person, and your'e kinda right. I should have uploaded earlier! I recently got a gaming PC, and i wanted to game on it dammit! So i didn't really feel like writing. When i did want to write, i found out that my PC didn't have Word installed, so i had to install it manually. After DAYS of looking for the disk, we found it and installed it. But i didn't feel like writing anymore. But i read today's chapter (4/9/'14), and got totally excited! So without further ado, lets get on with our story!**

Tsunade was walking through the hospital corridors, ignoring the astounded looks the medical ninja were giving her. Her mind was set on today's job. She had stayed up late untill she found what she was looking for in her textbooks. She then fell asleep, and woke up too late in the morning. She only made it in time by not having breakfast, which she silently regretted.

As she neared the door of the operating room, she could see a group of people in front of it. Sitting on a bench on the right wearing a nervous look on his face was Itachi, the usually comprised former ANBU captain. Next to him was Obito, trying to calm his fellow clanmate down. Behind him were Sakura and Naruto, who were trying to look through the blurred window of the operating room, hoping to be able to make out what was happening inside. And next to the door into the room, leaning against a wall, stood Minato, the fourth Hokage. Tsunade sighed.

"Allright, what are all of you doing in here?" Tsunade asked with a loud voice. Everybody looked her way. Minato was the first to speak up. "I feel responsible for sending them on that mission. I'm here to know how everything will go" he said with a heavy undertone in his voice.

"I'm here to make sure that Sasuke doesn't run of scared when he sees a needle!" Naruto said, which gained him a large bumb seconds later dealt by his pink haired teammate.

"I want to be there for Sasuke! Even if i can't do much!" Sakura said.

Tsunade then looked at Obito and Itachi, but merely nodded. They were family.

"Nobody is allowed in the operating room for as long as i'm inside. You will all stay outside this door. I won't take no for an answer" Tsunade warned them. Naruto was about to complain but Minato put his hand on his son's shoulder. "We understand, lady Tsunade. We will remain outside". Naruto pouted, but then went to sit next to Itachi. The others just nodded.

"Allright, I'm going in" Tsunade said and opened the door, and looked at the young Uchiha inside the room. "Allright, lie down flat" she asked, and Sasuke obeyed. She than took out a syringe, and used it on his back. Sasuke moaned in pain, but remained still. Tsunade then gave him a slightly saddistic look. "Even with the pain killer i just gave you, this is going to hurt like hell".

"Well you could have lied a little" Sasuke replied.

After three hours of nonstop waiting in silence, which was a once in a lifetime for Naruto, the doors of the operating room finaly opened. A sweaty, bloody and tired Tsunade walked out, and grabbed a towel to clean herself. All of them shot from their seat, bombing her with the same questions over and over again, untill she smacked Obito through a wall and lifted Naruto and Itachi off the ground.

"Just let me talk already! Sasuke is fine, he is sleeping now. His back will hurt like hell tomorrow, and he will stay in the hospital for a few more weeks. After that, he will be discharged, but he will have to take it slowly. His rehabilitation will start in 4 days" she said as she threw Itachi and Naruto on their seats, though she had to admit it was nice seeing their face's of relief. Slowly, she started to remember why she became a medical ninja in the first place.

People told Sasuke that rehab would hurt like hell... And they were right. For the last 2 weeks, Sasuke had felt new level of pain he never felt before. Understandable, because by all means he shouldn't even be able to walk. He was lucky he would make a full recovery. Hell, he shouldn't even be alive! All the hard work paid off, because he would be allowed to leave the hospital today.

His time in the hospital had felt like a waste to Sasuke. Just sitting still doing nothing wasn't his forté, and the day's passed by slowly. The past 3 days he had been able to walk on his own again, and he had tried to sneak out of the hospital, only to be dragged in again by Tsunade.

That afternoon, a middle-aged woman with black, shoulder length hair entered entered his hospital room. "Good morning, Sasuke. I have some good news! I'm going to change your bandages, and then you are good to go home! Your brother is here to pick you up. Actually..." Shizune glanced sideways. "He's been waiting to pick you up ever since we opened for visitors this morning, and he's kinda scaring away the people. So i'll make this quick..." She said as she started to unwind the bandages covering his back. Sasuke winced. It still stung a bit when the pressure of the bandages was removed and his muscles relaxed.

After she reaplied the bandages, Shizune stood up and gave him a smile. "Well, take it easy for a few more days! You are not allowed on new mission's for at least a month, so there is no need to push yourself!" Shizune said, but Sasuke had only half an ear for her. His attention was more focused on his brother, who stood there with a relieved expression that fell completely out of character. "Well Sasuke, let's get you home. I have a mission to go on, and i'm already an hour late" Itachi said. "You shouldn't have waited for me. I can get home myself" Sasuke replied with a slightly annoyed voice. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay" His brother answered, but Sasuke's look of annoyance didn't go unnoticed to the Uchiha prodigy. "Was it really that bad in the hospital? You had plenty of company to keep you busy" His brother asked with a knowing look. Sasuke shrugged, though he had to admit: looking back, it wasn't too bad.

His teammates had come by every day, and stayed for a long time. Sakura would always show up around noon, bringing him dinner. Naruto would barge in a few minutes later, and eat most of it, telling him to get better quickly. He felt a bit annoyed he couldn't punch the knucklehead right there, but did smirk a bit when Sakura did it for him. The three of them would then be joined by Obito an hour later, even though he said he would come together with Naruto. It was repetitive, but it wasn't bad. Obito even managed to get Sasuke curious, because apparently there was something he wanted to tell them when Sasuke was released out of the hospital.

Before he even realised, they were home. Sasuke had thrown his coat on a nearby chair, and went to find his room. Before he entered, he Itachi turned around and told him that he was off on his mission, and that Sasuke shouldn't overexert himself.

When he entered his room, he was greeted by the sight of Sakura crying tears of joy and Naruto giving him a goofy smile. Sakura ran at him and hugged him, crying in his chest. After Sasuke had realised what was going on, he pushed Sakura away, who had now stopped crying.

"Hey Sasuke! It's about time I saw you walk again, I thought I might have to go look for a replacement!" Naruto said with a teasing voice. Sasuke ignored him. "What are you two doing here?" Sasuke asked. "Obito sensei told us to gather here today. But as usual, he's late" Sakura complained.  
"And do you two know what it is he wanted to tell us?" Sasuke asked. "No, he wouldn't tell us either. He said he would wait until you were better"

After half an hour of awkward silence, Obito finally appeared. "Hey guys! Your'e all early!" he greeted them. "NO, YOURE LATE!" they said in unison. Obito gave them a goofy smile. "Well anyways, it's good to see your'e better, Sasuke. Now that we are all gathered here, there is something i wanted to tell you. A week ago, they announced that the chunin exams are coming up. As you all know, becoming chunin is a vital step to becoming a real ninja. I think that the three of you are ready to take this step, but you need to think so too. So I have these with me" Obito said, and then took out some papers "You will need to fill in these forms, and return them to me. I will deliver them. Just so you know, you should not feel forced to participate. It is your own decision. You can take the exam as many times as you want. But we careful of your choice: these exams are very dangerous, both physically and mentally. You need to be absolutely sure about your answer. So, what will it be?" Obito asked them.

Naruto's eyes gave off a weird feeling, as if they had just erupted into flames. "I'm ready, count me in!" he said, and he snatched a paper from Obito's hands.

Sasuke's back gave a nasty sting, but Sasuke barely noticed. In front of him was the next step to surpass his brother. "I'm in as well" he said, and took the second paper.

Sakura's stomach just gave a twist. _Dangerous, both physically and mentally... Own decision..._ Sakura was about to refuse, but Obito spoke up. "Oh yeah, just to let you know: team's 10 and 8 have already sent in their forms of participation, so you won't be the only genin there"

Sakura's stomach fell in place again, and her eyes were now full of fire as well. So Ino's joining as well, huh...

_"Chaah! Count me in! I'll show Ino just how strong I am!"_

"I'm joining as well!" Sakura answered as she took the last piece of paper from Obito's hand.

"Good, because I "forgot" to say that you can only join with a full team! Not that it actually matters now, this makes things a lot easier! Now, the first exam will be in 2 months. A lot of preparations need to be made. See ya!" Obito said as he vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Allright, I'm going to train my gut's off! See you guy's later!" Naruto shouted as he jumped out of the window. Sakura, who saw her chance, cuddled up to Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke, wanna go on a date with me?" the pink kunoichi asked. "No thanks, i'm going to get some rest" he said as he pushed away. Sakura pouted, and left with a small "bye". When he heard her leave his house though, Sasuke instantly started to do push ups. Only two more months until the chunin exams, and he was nowhere near ready. Screw taking it easy, he needed to be in top form if he wanted to make chunin. And he would be, even if it meant taking risks!

**Chapter 14, done! I'm really sorry this took so long, but the first few weeks of school are always the most hectic. One chapter takes a good one and a half hours to write, but between schoolwork, a new pc and my first ever guitar lesson (which I greatly enjoy), finding the motivation to write wasn't easy. Luckily they are going easy on us when it comes to homework, but I don't expect it to stay like that for long. And with October getting near, the time of brand new game releases is coming up, adding further to the chaos! Anyways, my fingers already hurt because of the guitar, and now I really need to go to sleep. In seven hours, I'll have to drag my ass back to school again for a full week!**

**Next week, I will have rehearsals for a sketch I have to do on the end-year party of my youth activision, so my two best days to write (monday and wednesday) will be gone, so don't expect the next chapter to be up any time soon. Anyways, starting the week after next week I should have more time for everything.**

**Now, i'm going to put up another straw poll on my page: do you want me to make Sakura stronger and usefull, or keep her as she is in the main story line? Honestly, I could go either way right now, so why not let you decide! After all, I'm only writing because of you guy's reading!**


	15. Chapter 15: The first exam: new rivals!

**I justify my absence with schoolwork. 5th year is hell. And I'm only 3 weeks in...**

**Anyways, I'll try to upload more often now that the most hectic part is over. Now it's just ignoring schoolwork (this is gonna bite me in the ass later, I can tell). So yeah, let's get this started! I'm pumped for the chunin exams!**

Team seven hadn't been together for the last few weeks. Each member of the team was busy training him or herself for the chunin exams. And now, on the day of the first test, it was time for them to show their skills. As previously arranged, team seven gathered in front of the building that hosted the first test. To the three young genin, however, it came to a total surprise to see that their sensei was... early! Obito stood there leaning against a wall, waiting for his team to arrive.

"Before you give my sassy remarks, I have been busy helping out with the exam since 5 o'clock this morning, and a friend of mine reminded me I was meeting you three here" Obito said before his three little devils managed to nag him about anything. Yes, he was cranky! He wasn't an early bird, that's for sure...

"So sensei, do you know what the first test will be?" Sakura asked. Obito grinned at her. "Yes, I do. But under no circumstances am I allowed to tell you, Sakura. Secrecy is a part of the ninja code, after all!" He said. Sakura pouted. "Being on time is also a part of the ninja code..." she whispered under her breath, but she was sure she saw Obito cast her a glare, before turning to the other two teammembers. "So, how did training go?" Obito asked curiously.

"It went great! I can take anyone now, believe it! I trained until I fell down, and then some more!" Naruto replied with great enthusiasm. Sasuke gave Obito a confident smirk. "Beat it, loser. It took a while to get to a 100 precent, but I finally got better after my back completely healed. I can't even feel the pain now" he said confidently. "There's no way I would lose to a loser like you".

Many arguments and a large bump on Naruto's head (given to him by Sakura) the three of them entered the building, and stepped into a large room, lit by old-fashioned torches on the walls. Many ninja were inside, almost all of which were older then team 7. As they walked through the people to the back of the room, they could feel the bloodlust radiating from some of the participants.

"They all look pretty powerful, don't you think so Sasuke?"

"Nothing we can't take. They don't look more powerful then that sound trio".

"Yeah, we can take them no problem! I'll show them who's boss!"

"Nevertheless, we don't know who we might face, so be carefull. That goes for you too, dobe".

"Hey, you three! Over here!" team seven was snapped out of their conversation when they heard a familiar voice call out to them. When they looked at the person who called them, they saw Kiba wave at them, his usual grin plastered on his face. Behind him was Shino, hidden as ever in his large trenchcoat, hoodie and glasses, and Hinata, who quickly turned away at the sight of them. Next to them were Ino, Shikamaru and Choji, seemingly discussing battle strategies. And behind them was a team they had never seen before, but did wear the leaf headband. The first member was a girl in a pink kimono and with hair that resembled panda ears. The second member was a big guy, leaning against the wall. He had long, black hair and a white sweater. He had his eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought. The third member was the weirdest one: he was a tall, young man with very big and round eyes, which stood out even more because of his huge eyebrows. On top of that, the boy was wearing a green, spandex bodysuit with a red belt with the leaf protector sowed onto it. All in all, he looked completely ridiculous. On top of that, it seemed as if he was busy doing push-ups, counting viciously.

"853, 854, 855, 856, 857,..."

"Lee, can you just stop already? People are looking at us and you'll be exhausted even before the exam starts!"

"Ignore him, Ten-Ten. He's too much of a fool to understand you".

Sasuke gave Lee a glance, before walking up to the wall and lean back, a few metres away from Neji. Time went on, and the young genin teams had a little small talk with each other, waiting for the exam to start. After half an hour of waittime, 2 big doors opened, and a team of 4 ninja came through. They all wore the usual Konoha uniform, except for the guy in the front. He was a tall man with long face, hidden by a mask that covered his mouth and nose. He wore the usual leaf headband, and had long, white and spiky hair that didn't believe in gravity. He wore a black t-shirt with a white body armor over it, with white arm- and handprotectors. He also wore long, black pants and sandals, and a katana was strapped on his back. The man, however, didn't seem to notice all the young ninja around him, and was completely engulfed in his book. One of the other ninja spoke up.

"Ehh, Kakashi? We're here!"

Kakashi glanced up. Indeed, about a hundred teenagers seemingly ready to kill him were looking right at him. Kakashi sighed and closed his book.

"Allright, my name is Kakashi Hatake, and I will be your first exam proctor. Now, the chunin exams are composed of three stages: if you fail a stage, you are disqualified from the exams. If you pass, you go on to the next stage. If you would all follow me inside, we can get the first part of the exam started" he said rather unenthousiastically. He took his book out again, turned around and went inside the room with the big doors. It was a large room, much larger than the previous one, with many walls and obstacles , it almost seemed like a maze. When everybody was inside, the doors slammed shut. Then, without any warning, somebody used a jutsu and the entire room was filled with white smoke.

"Good, I will now explain the first exam" Kakashi said, seemingly unfazed by the sudden mist. "The four of us have blended into the crowd, and hidden among you. Your job is to find us. If you do, we give you a sealing tag, which will allow you to open the door and leave the room. If you can't find us within the hour, you will fail this test. Also note that this test is preformed per squad, so you will have to work together as a team. And remember: less competition will only play out as your benefit in these exams. Well... Start!" he said, and a loud poof of someone using the body flicker was heard.

Sakura was first to react "Allright guys, what do we do?" She asked.

"I could send out my shadow clones to go look for them, piece of cake!" Naruto said.

"You idiot! You can't just go in blindly, can you? They used the transformation jutsu to look like genin, so you wouldn't recognize them. Unless you could see their chakra being used, that is!" Sakura replied.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea. I'll use my sharingan to look for unusual chakra signature's, and Naruto can send a clone to check them out. We are bound to find one of them after a little while" Sasuke proposed.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" a voice said next to them. It came from a young man with white hair, tied in a ponytail and round glasses. "If you just run off, other teams will just follow you. Also, if you will just run to the door with a tag, the other teams will just attack you and take your tag from you. You'd be swarmed before you even near the exit" he finished.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked the guy.

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi. I'm taking this exam for the 6th time now, so I know what to expect. Don't take my advice lightly!" he said before wandering off with his team.

"Whatever that guy says, we can't do nothing! Start looking for those proctors, Sasuke! Let's get this over with!" Naruto said with a fistpump. Sasuke scowled, and turned his sharingan on. Two black tomoes spun around his pupil in his now scarlet eye. As he looked around, he noticed he could see much more details than usual, being able to identify people that stood too far away to see with the normal eye.

"I can see someone constantly using up chakra that way!" Sasuke said, pointing through the crowd at a young woman, seemingly around 16 years old.

"Got it!" Naruto said, and created a clone. Before the clone could leave though, Sakura stopped him. "Whatever you may think about that guy from before, he was right. We can't go in blindly. Make your clone use the transformation jutsu to turn into something small, like a mouse. That way, you won't be noticed that easily" she adviced. Naruto's clone nodded, and turned himself into a mouse and ran off towards the woman.

When he reached her, he noticed she was making a seal. Turning back into Naruto, he grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around. "Are you the exam proctor?" Naruto asked. The girl shook her head, but then two guy's showed up. "Hey you! What are you doing with Mikasa?" One of them said.  
"I just thought that she was the exam proctor!" Naruto said. "Yeah yeah! Attacking our teammate when she was trying to sense out the exam proctors, eh? Take this!" the talles of the two said and punched Naruto straight in the face, who quickly dissapeared in a puff of smoke.

The real Naruto felt for a flash second as if his nose was broken. He then sighed. "Dead link, guys".

"No problem, i found another one over there. And someone else is giving off a weird signature in that direction" Sasuke said, and Naruto made two clones that ran off again.

This continued for 30 minutes, but never did they find a exam proctor. "We have to try something else! What would sensei tell us?" Sakura asked. A white imagination cloud appeared above their heads, but it stayed white. A few minutes later, fantasy-Obito came running into view. "Sorry, I had to fight a dream before I could get here!" fantasy-Obito made up. "Even in our fantasy your'e late!?" they all thought at the same time. Their thought process was then interrupted by the sound of two big doors opening. One team managed to get a tag to the door. Over the next few minutes, the door would open up a few more times. "Damnit! This way there won't be any tags left! What do we do?" Naruto asked. "Maybe we could wait at the door and take the tag off of a team that finished?" Sakura proposed. "Hell no! I'm not sinking as low as being a thief!" Naruto replied.

"Were ninja, dobe. We will have to do a lot worse in the future. But your'e right, it isn't a good plan. Nearly all of these guy's could just overpower us, it would be pointless. No, maybe we could try to look some more, but it seems like these proctors just vanished" he said. He then looked over at the wall on the other side of the room, where statues of the first two hokage were setup. He thought of his brother, who would find it hilarious that his 'foolish little brother' couldn't even use his sharingan to find someone under a transformation jutsu. He had to get stronger, he had to become chunin. It was a necessary step to...

"Hang on!" Sasuke said, and started to turn around in all directions, as if looking for something. "What is it?" Naruto asked, but Sasuke remained focused. "I know where the exam proctor is!" He said, then pulled Naruto close, and muttered something in his and Sakura's ear. They then nodded, and split up. Sasuke was running at a wall, but instead of colliding he simply ran onto it, up the wall to the ceiling. He then hung upside down from the ceiling, flashing his eyes around the room, as to get a better view of the area. He then pointed his finger towards the corner of the room. "Over there, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted. But then...

The whole room looked at the corner Sasuke pointed at, and chaos ensued. People were pushing and pulling at eachother to get where he mentioned. Sasuke could see Naruto get pushed back by the crowd, and scowled. When Naruto was thrown out of the mass of people, however, he could hear the blonde chuckle. "HAH! Got the tag, losers!" Naruto taunted. Then half the room turned around, and ran after the blonde idiot. "Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura shouted over from the other side of the room. "Now we'll never get to that door!". Sasuke also jumped down from the roof, and met up with his teammates, who were now cornered...

He then pulled on one eyelid and stuck out his tongue to the onlookers. Sakura started to make weird faces as well, and Naruto did some sort of jiggle-dance. "Hah! Got you!" they said as they dissapeared into a puff of smoke. Then, the sound of two, large doors that opened could be heard, and a relieved team 7 walked through, finally finishing the first exam.

Standing in a corner, a statue of the first hokage eyed the room. Suddenly, it started to move, and got engulfed in a white puff of smoke. It then turned into Kakashi, who raised his voice. "Allright, that's the end of the first test. All of you who are left, you failed. Better luck next year!" he said, happy to finally be able to continue reading his novel.

**That's it! The first exam is done! I know it took a while, but this is how it has to be! School=hell.**

**Anyways, I have the plot all thought out for part 1. Let's hope I can write more often from now on. Anyways, thanks for sticking with me! October is the month of spooks, so I'll try to get a thrilling second exam in. I think updates will stagger around 1-2 chapters a month, so don't get your hopes up. I can't write a chapter every day/week like in the holidays (to my great dismay).**

**Also, nobody filled in the Sakura poll. I made her play the role of strategist in this one, but it don't think it really suits her. Do you want her to be more usefull, or stay as she is is the canon? Fill in the poll on my page!**


End file.
